Hermon di Giovanno (born Hermolaus Ionides, Greek: Ερμόλαος Ιωνίδης; 17 December 1897 – April 1969)[1] was an American mystic painter.
In early adulthood, he performed as an operatic tenor,[2] but was eventually forced to abandon his singing career after suffering difficulties with his voice.
"[3] In Boston, while working at the counter of a Boston-area Hayes-Bickford's (a cafeteria-style restaurant), he befriended Alan Hovhaness and the painter Hyman Bloom, who often ate dinner there.
Also a member of this circle was Dr. Elizabeth A. Gregory, a Boston pediatrician to whom di Giovanno gave a number of his paintings just before his final return to Greece.
"[4] Hovhaness believed that di Giovanno provided the "spiritual forces" required to allow him to compose his Easter Cantata (1953),[5] and his Symphony No.