Name/Title
Patterson, Claude A. (1887-1973) "High in the Tree Tops"Entry/Object ID
2025.900.FA18378Tags
WatercolorDescription
We’re asked to adopt a perspective almost never accessible to humans: near the top of a tree, at close proximity to parrots. A light wash of cloudy white and blue in the background encloses the birds; their distinctive colors echo those of the tree’s leaftips and berries. An earlier New Deal Gallery inventory speculates that this is a rubber tree, and it does appear to be a Ficus of some variety. Patterson’s watercolor bears resemblance in its design to his Orioles: a simplified canopy to better frame the birds, an emphasis upon their bright colors, and a use of foreshortening to bunch several birds closer together.Collection
Mt. Morris TB Hospital FAP CollectionMade/Created
Artist
Patterson, Claude A.Date made
1937Dimensions
Height
23-1/2 inWidth
19-1/2 inCondition
Overall Condition
FairDate Examined
Jul 30, 2025Notes
stains upper right side/along edges of birdsRecommendations
needs new mat and secure frameProvenance
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
In-House NoteNote
Not in inventory w/GSA numberNote Type
Cataloging NoteNote
See the entry titled 'New Deal Collection Documents' for supporting documents, and general historic and research information.
