The Painting

I do not have a reason, but it popped into my head this morning. It does every so often. Growing up, we had a painting on the wall. It was a really amazing painting of a tiger in a jungle.

All I knew about it back then was that my uncle got it for my mom while he was in prison. Why my uncle was in there is a story for another day.

The painting was by Herbert Langnes, but for some reason, we always thought it was Harry. Those signatures can be so challenging to read. That could be what it was signed as. Last year, I decided to research it and found some interesting articles about him and his painting on newspapers.com.

He was in prison for life and ultimately died there. Well, he died in the hospital when he was taken there.

Apparently, he had a tough childhood and was in prison because he and his buddy got into an altercation and shot a police officer. The article said his buddy did it. Ironically enough, the shooting happened at or near a turnpike exit here in Lancaster County that we have sometimes used but go past fairly often.

The article states that, according to Graterford staff, his anger improved when he started painting. He painted nature and, in an interview shortly before his death, said that while he was painting, he was out there in nature.

It’s a shame he didn’t find that release before he got in all sorts of trouble. That painting was incredible.

If she still has it, I will take a picture and edit this post later to include it. I don’t know when I will see her again, and I am pretty sure she loaned or gave it to a museum or something.