A wonderful WPA Surrealist painting by the noted New Jersey artist Michael Lenson. The works appears to have been refined at some point and perhaps has some in painting. We have not examined it under a black light. It is in a period frame that has been left in its original condition and it suits the painting beautifully.

Painting is in good overall condition now, after relining and restoration. Original frame has some losses, particularly to corners.

A brief Biography of the artist from his son follows:
The following, at the suggestion of Barry Lenson, son of the artist

Michael Lenson (1903-1971) has gained widespread recognition as one of America’s most important realist painters.

Born in Russia, Lenson emigrated to America in 1911. While a student at the National Academy of Design in 1928, he won the coveted $10,000 Chaloner Paris Prize which paid for four years of study in London (Slade School of Art), Paris (Academie des Beaux Arts) and the Netherlands. While abroad, his works were exhibited in the Autumn and Spring Parisian Salons and other venues.

Upon his return to America, Lenson won critical acclaim in one-man shows in Manhattan’s Kende, Bonestell and other galleries. When the Great Depression struck, he became director of WPA mural projects for the state of New Jersey. He completed major murals for Newark City Hall, The Verona Sanatorium, Weequahic High School in Newark, New Jersey, and the Post Office in Mount Hope, West Virginia. Who Was Who in American Art calls Lenson “New Jersey’s most important muralist.”

Michael Lenson was a man of many talents. “The Realm of Art,” a weekly column he wrote for The Newark Sunday News from 1956-1971, established Lenson as “New Jersey’s most distinguished art critic,” according to scholar William Gerdts.

Lenson painted and exhibited extensively until his death in 1971. His works are in the collections of the RISD Museum, The Maier Museum of American Art, The Johnson Museum at Cornell, The Newark Museum, The Montclair Art Museum, the Wolfsonian Collection and many others.