Lange, Erna (1896-1984) Chinese Lantern

Art

The New Deal Museum

Name/Title

Lange, Erna (1896-1984) "Chinese Lantern"

Entry/Object ID

2025.900.FA18194

Description

An arrangement of dried stalks in a ceramic urn creates this dazzling play of colors and light. Its setting is a wooden table, Navaho-patterned weaving, and earth-colored walls; along with the bright light passing in through a curtain at left, the effect is one of the American southwest, whether the still life was painted there or not. The painting’s otherwise haphazard lines draw our eyes to one particular globe and its shadow at top center.

Artwork Details

Medium

Oil

Collection

Mt. Morris TB Hospital FAP Collection

Made/Created

Artist

Lange, Erna

Date made

Jan 2, 1936

Dimensions

Height

24 in

Width

30 in

Condition

Overall Condition

Very Poor

Date Examined

Jul 27, 2025

Notes

5+ cracks upper lower left corner/upper middle right/middle center to bottom left corner/upper middle top/lower middle bottom/lower right corner, 55+ chips throughout left side/entirety/center/lower right middle, 2 scratches lower right corner, 1 hole upper left corner, pencil marks/warping upper middle right throughout entirety

Recommendations

signficiant missing paint,cracked paints, chipped frame

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.