Nagai, Tomiso (Thomas) (1886-1966) Greenfields

Name/Title

Nagai, Tomiso (Thomas) (1886-1966) "Greenfields"

Entry/Object ID

2025.900.FA18215

Description

At lower left, a tight cluster of houses is set along the same plane as a plateau running to the right; in the distance are gentle hills of a comparable height, and beyond that taller mountains in blue. In the basin between them we behold the broad green fields that give Nagai’s monoprint its name, a space that with a change of color could be a lake. Tiny dots of yellow and orange across the fields may indicate houses on the opposite side, in which case the basin is massive. Subtle etchings in the paint convey ground contours, brush, and tree foliage—the grass fields are a fine-grained texture of their own.

Collection

Mt. Morris TB Hospital FAP Collection

Made/Created

Artist

Nagai, Tomizo

Date made

1935 - 1940

Dimensions

Height

13 in

Width

15-3/4 in

Provenance

Provenance Detail

Created under the Works Progress Administration’s Federal Art Project (1930s–1940s), this collection of easel paintings was originally installed at the Mount Morris Tuberculosis Sanitorium in Livingston County, New York. Following the sanitorium’s closure in 1970, the artworks were abandoned and remained in storage until their rediscovery decades later. Now preserved and exhibited by the Genesee Valley Council on the Arts (GVCA), the collection is housed at the New Deal Museum in Mount Morris. Current efforts include digitization, high-resolution photography, and the creation of an online archive to ensure long-term public access and research availability.

General Notes

Note Type

Cataloging Note

Note

See the entry titled 'New Deal Collection Documents' for supporting documents, and general historic and research information.