Imitating art

Gerda reproduction will hang in county museum saloon exhibit

By Tom Hintgen (Contact) | The Daily Journal

Published Tuesday, April 1, 2008

In 1966 Johnson Furniture, located on North Mill Street, Fergus Falls, decided to expand. Warren Johnson, who operated the furniture store, owned the nearby old city hall. His plan was to combine the two buildings.

Workmen were knocking brick out of a wall at old city hall when they came upon a painting of a nude woman. On the back of the painting were the words, “Painted for Gerda H. DeJardin.” That, surmised Johnson and others, would be the clue to the origin of the artwork.

That was not to be, however.

There was no record for a Gerda H. DeJardin. Local historians couldn’t find who she was or where she came from. Johnson and others, however, believe that the painting could possibly have come from a saloon just south of old city hall.

“While Gerda remains a mystery, we do know the pose for the painting was copied from John Singer Sargent’s ‘Egyptian Girl’ painted back in 1891,” said Chris Schuelke, executive director of the Otter Tail County Historical Society.

The painting thus became known as “Gerda.”

Johnson first displayed the painting in his furniture store. Gerda later was displayed at the Fergus Falls Elks Club and in 1980 found its way to the Otter Tail County Historical Society museum in Fergus Falls.

The Gerda painting was on display in the museum’s saloon exhibit until spring 2007 when pigment deterioration prompted its relocation from display into storage.

Fast forward to Friday, March 28, 2008.

Artist Lance Albers of Fergus Falls started work on reproductions of the Gerda painting.

“The pallet of colors in oil I’m using are specifically from the pre-World War II era,” Albers said, “such as umbers, siennas, iron oxide, ochres, vermillion, and also flake white, which is actually lead white.”

Albers also has an opinion as to who may have completed the original painting.

"I think it’s possible that the person who painted this picture was someone called a limner — the old name given to a person who not only painted signs, but who also did portraits and other types of painting,” Albers said. “They might have simply used the portrait of John Singer Sargent’s Egyptian Girl as a template for their work. Yet, this mysterious portrait does seem to have been a real person."

The original Gerda artwork will be stored in safe keeping, for preservation, at the museum. One of the reproductions will be hung — like the original had been — in the museum’s saloon exhibit. The second reproduction will be sold at silent auction during the museum’s annual meeting in fall 2008. Proceeds will pay for painting reproduction costs and to raise money for the overall project.

Schuelke said Albers is an accomplished artists who has previously done extensive artwork with period images.

“Lance, for more than 20 years, has created a broad range of art,” Schuelke said. “When complete, the second Gerda painting will take its rightful place on our (museum) saloon wall.”

Creating the reproductions of Gerda will costs just over $3,000. Donations for the project are coming in, and those who contribute $250 or more will received prints of the Gerda painting. Checks can be made out to the Otter Tail County Historical Society and mailed to 1110 West Lincoln, Fergus Falls.

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