Crimson Serenade (attributed), Karen Erla (b. 1942), c.1980s, acrylic on linen, 20x24 in, signed, inscribed “Erla,” “20x24”
Karen Erla’s atmospheric 20 x 24 inch painting presents a dreamlike guitarist silhouette suspended in a field of crimson and rose, with featherlike forms drifting through velvety gradients. Likely executed in acrylic on linen with an airbrushed, misted technique, the work blends surreal figuration and lyrical abstraction—music as memory, motion, and mood. Inscribed “Erla,” “20x24,” along the lower margin, this evocative postwar-contemporary piece suits collectors of contemporary American painting, red monochrome works, and poetic figurative abstraction.
Artwork Description
This composition centers on a simplified, almost spectral figure holding a white guitar—an icon rendered with softened edges and tonal transitions rather than hard contour. The surrounding field is a saturated range of reds, from deep garnet to smoky rose, punctuated by floating, featherlike shapes that read as both botanical fronds and airy musical vibrations. The result is an image that feels simultaneously intimate and cinematic: a performer emerging from haze, as if recalled through emotion rather than observed directly.
The imagery aligns closely with Erla’s documented interest in translating sensation—especially natural forms, harmonies, and moods—into visual language. Here, music becomes both subject and structure: a central chord (the guitar/figure) held inside an enveloping red atmosphere, with “notes” suggested by drifting featherlike forms.
Artist Biography
Karen Erla (American, born 1942) is a postwar and contemporary artist associated with painting and printmaking, documented in major public museum collections and the Smithsonian American Art Museum’s artist records. The Smithsonian lists her as born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and active in Harrison and White Plains, New York, situating her professional life within the greater New York region while maintaining a national presence through collections and exhibitions.
Erla graduated from The George Washington University in 1965 with a major in Fine Arts, pursued additional graduate studies (including time at Boston University, Carnegie Tech, and California State Teacher’s College), taught art and music at the high school level, directed school art programs, and held the Smithsonian-related role described as “Drawer of Fish,” which reinforced her commitment to interpreting nature’s forms rather than duplicating them. She is quoted describing her painting practice as inseparable from music—forms and color stimulated by “counterpoints and harmonies”—and she is noted as lecturing on painting, design, and floral arrangement (including on cable TV).
Beyond the 1980s, Erla’s public record expands most clearly through printmaking: the Smithsonian American Art Museum holds a 1984 color monoprint on paper titled Untitled, gifted by the artist, confirming institutional recognition and direct museum relationship. The Brooklyn Museum also lists an Untitled work (1984) described as a monoprint incorporating aquatint, soft ground, collograph, embossing, and hand drawing—evidence of a technically ambitious, hybrid print practice consistent with the experimental “mixed process” printmaking of the period.
Published documentation of her work includes exhibition and catalogue materials such as “Karen Erla: Paintings 1987” (Haddad’s Fine Arts, Inc.) and “Karen Erla: Works on Handmade Japanese and Photographic Papers” (Bennett Siegel Gallery, 1990). These references indicate sustained gallery presentation and critical framing into at least 1990, with essays, conversations, and lists of exhibitions/collections noted in the 1990 catalogue description.
Karen Erla (American, b. 1942)
Crimson Serenade (attributed), c.1980s
Acrylic on linen (acrylic dispersion–primed linen support)
20 x 24 in
Signed/inscribed along lower margin: “Erla,” “20x24,” “375,” and inventory-style code (appears “MM-5082”)
Dreamlike monochrome-red guitarist silhouette with featherlike forms; lyrical surreal figuration and atmospheric abstraction.
Certificate of Authentication
Artist: Karen Erla (American, b. 1942)
Title: Crimson Serenade (attributed)
Medium: Acrylic on linen (based on visual characteristics and linen stamp indicating acrylic priming)
Dimensions: 20 x 24 inches
Inscriptions: “Erla,” “20x24,” “375,” and an inventory-style code (appears “MM-5082”)
Date: Circa 1980s (attributed)
This certifies that the artwork described above is catalogued by Artfind Gallery, Washington DC, and is attributed to Karen Erla based on inscriptions, supporting materials, and comparative references to the artist’s documented practice.
Authorized by: Artfind Gallery, Washington DC
Condition
Good overall condition with even color fields and no obvious cracking (consistent with acrylic). Light surface speckling/handling marks visible in photographs; margins show typical wear from handling and storage. Unframed. A full condition report would ideally include raking light and UV examination.
Provenance
Acquired in Europe and the United States
Mitch Morse Gallery, New York, USA
Artfind Gallery, Washington DC (current owner)
Crimson Serenade (attributed), Karen Erla (b. 1942), c.1980s, acrylic on linen, 20x24 in, signed, inscribed “Erla,” “20x24”
Karen Erla’s atmospheric 20 x 24 inch painting presents a dreamlike guitarist silhouette suspended in a field of crimson and rose, with featherlike forms drifting through velvety gradients. Likely executed in acrylic on linen with an airbrushed, misted technique, the work blends surreal figuration and lyrical abstraction—music as memory, motion, and mood. Inscribed “Erla,” “20x24,” along the lower margin, this evocative postwar-contemporary piece suits collectors of contemporary American painting, red monochrome works, and poetic figurative abstraction.
Artwork Description
This composition centers on a simplified, almost spectral figure holding a white guitar—an icon rendered with softened edges and tonal transitions rather than hard contour. The surrounding field is a saturated range of reds, from deep garnet to smoky rose, punctuated by floating, featherlike shapes that read as both botanical fronds and airy musical vibrations. The result is an image that feels simultaneously intimate and cinematic: a performer emerging from haze, as if recalled through emotion rather than observed directly.
The imagery aligns closely with Erla’s documented interest in translating sensation—especially natural forms, harmonies, and moods—into visual language. Here, music becomes both subject and structure: a central chord (the guitar/figure) held inside an enveloping red atmosphere, with “notes” suggested by drifting featherlike forms.
Artist Biography
Karen Erla (American, born 1942) is a postwar and contemporary artist associated with painting and printmaking, documented in major public museum collections and the Smithsonian American Art Museum’s artist records. The Smithsonian lists her as born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and active in Harrison and White Plains, New York, situating her professional life within the greater New York region while maintaining a national presence through collections and exhibitions.
Erla graduated from The George Washington University in 1965 with a major in Fine Arts, pursued additional graduate studies (including time at Boston University, Carnegie Tech, and California State Teacher’s College), taught art and music at the high school level, directed school art programs, and held the Smithsonian-related role described as “Drawer of Fish,” which reinforced her commitment to interpreting nature’s forms rather than duplicating them. She is quoted describing her painting practice as inseparable from music—forms and color stimulated by “counterpoints and harmonies”—and she is noted as lecturing on painting, design, and floral arrangement (including on cable TV).
Beyond the 1980s, Erla’s public record expands most clearly through printmaking: the Smithsonian American Art Museum holds a 1984 color monoprint on paper titled Untitled, gifted by the artist, confirming institutional recognition and direct museum relationship. The Brooklyn Museum also lists an Untitled work (1984) described as a monoprint incorporating aquatint, soft ground, collograph, embossing, and hand drawing—evidence of a technically ambitious, hybrid print practice consistent with the experimental “mixed process” printmaking of the period.
Published documentation of her work includes exhibition and catalogue materials such as “Karen Erla: Paintings 1987” (Haddad’s Fine Arts, Inc.) and “Karen Erla: Works on Handmade Japanese and Photographic Papers” (Bennett Siegel Gallery, 1990). These references indicate sustained gallery presentation and critical framing into at least 1990, with essays, conversations, and lists of exhibitions/collections noted in the 1990 catalogue description.
Karen Erla (American, b. 1942)
Crimson Serenade (attributed), c.1980s
Acrylic on linen (acrylic dispersion–primed linen support)
20 x 24 in
Signed/inscribed along lower margin: “Erla,” “20x24,” “375,” and inventory-style code (appears “MM-5082”)
Dreamlike monochrome-red guitarist silhouette with featherlike forms; lyrical surreal figuration and atmospheric abstraction.
Certificate of Authentication
Artist: Karen Erla (American, b. 1942)
Title: Crimson Serenade (attributed)
Medium: Acrylic on linen (based on visual characteristics and linen stamp indicating acrylic priming)
Dimensions: 20 x 24 inches
Inscriptions: “Erla,” “20x24,” “375,” and an inventory-style code (appears “MM-5082”)
Date: Circa 1980s (attributed)
This certifies that the artwork described above is catalogued by Artfind Gallery, Washington DC, and is attributed to Karen Erla based on inscriptions, supporting materials, and comparative references to the artist’s documented practice.
Authorized by: Artfind Gallery, Washington DC
Condition
Good overall condition with even color fields and no obvious cracking (consistent with acrylic). Light surface speckling/handling marks visible in photographs; margins show typical wear from handling and storage. Unframed. A full condition report would ideally include raking light and UV examination.
Provenance
Acquired in Europe and the United States
Mitch Morse Gallery, New York, USA
Artfind Gallery, Washington DC (current owner)
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