Helmi Sjöstrand was part of the acclaimed and interesting Önningeby Colony from 1886 to 1892. The exhibition "Light over Sea and Land - The Önningeby Colony in Åland", which was displayed at Prins Eugens Waldemarsudde until March 26, 2023, highlighted this important Finnish-Swedish artist colony, where Helmi Sjöstrand had close relationships with, among others, Elin Danielson and JAG Acke.

Today, Helmi Sjöstrand is considered one of the most important female painters from the period shortly after the turn of the century. She studied at the Finnish Art Society's drawing school in Helsinki from 1879 to 1889, where she was awarded the Löfgren Scholarship in 1889. She later continued her art studies with K Deri in Munich. She subsequently made numerous study trips, including to Berlin from 1911 to 1914, Sweden from 1914 to 1915, Copenhagen from 1915 to 1917, Germany from 1917 to 1918, the Netherlands from 1918 to 1921, Mallorca from 1921 to 1924, Barcelona in 1924, and London from 1925 to 1926.

Sjöstrand is primarily known for her landscape paintings, but also for her interesting depictions of Stockholm, often with women at the center, showcasing the city's street life at the time. She is represented, among others, at Ateneum in Helsinki with the painting "Motif from Söder in Stockholm" and at the Önningeby Museum in Åland.