Could This Be a Retro Clown Pic Painted by a Nun?

Hi All:

Not sure if I posted the painting when I was new to the site and on my creepy clown posting kick, but either way, I'm still trying to ID this painting.

It seems to me that the sig is Sr. (Sister?) M. Emerentia. I believe Emerentia is a name that Catholic tradition associates with the grandmother of Jesus' mother, Mary, as well as a 3rd or 4th Century martyred saint from Rome whose feast day is observed/ celebrated on 1/23 each year. Given those associations, it would make sense that a sister, or nun, would choose (or be given by the Mother Superior) that novitiate name.

If the artist was indeed a nun named Sister M. Emerentia, the strongest lead I have so far is this ridiculously long Ursuline Sisters obit: https://www.google.com/search?q=Sr.+M.+Emerentia+artist&rlz=1C1CHBF_enUS835US835&sxsrf=AOaemvIWK1oqyVIeo37SGISL70LdBGv1DA:1638931166601&tbm=isch&source=iu&ictx=1&fir=vXK7QHXsxHK2rM%2C5qqtZXI7ZOpcHM%2C_%3BWBuQUo66Dt1JLM%2CxNzqfIuWE1q3bM%2C_%3BB-_XXdI-VjhVtM%2CLJiPOkhhMPzaPM%2C_%3Bwd_JYjidHqMvgM%2Cfyx-tesHPZnWBM%2C_%3BFtT2bd518vHNPM%2C-Alc_wrXuucVxM%2C_%3BGwcE8SOztMeJgM%2CFaJOGGE_xWT-4M%2C_%3BgqMi64ML9N_WnM%2C-Alc_wrXuucVxM%2C_%3BeSFNF0VxCdB5lM%2CFaJOGGE_xWT-4M%2C_%3B2aoBf3uSRsjkjM%2CxTVIdiWMyS1g4M%2C_%3BRbHSQYEE6Uv-vM%2CX6fZjJ3Xr0u1tM%2C_&vet=1&usg=AI4_-kR9k-uCQIOuC4HfKOfER5qYT5rXEg&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjiu_uvltP0AhVGUt8KHa1aCFgQ9QF6BAgIEAE

Unfortunately, though this sister was around in 1970 and accomplished in certain circles for her knitting, crocheting, sewing, and embroidering, it doesn't look like she was known for painting.

Of course, all this would be hilarious if I misread the sig, but I'm still enjoying the wild goose chase and am looking forward to see if anyone can snipe this one!

 

Anything on the back?

Debora

 

Here's another similar from 1960. Wonder what image was based on.

Debora

 

I'm having one heck of a time getting the back of the frame uploaded on here, even though I saved it in the usual small format. I should work it out shorty.

 

This one is "after Leon Franks." Bet yours was too.

Debora

 

As you can see, not much to build on from the pic. I'll have a look at it more closely under some brighter light, though, and post if I discover anything.

 

there had to be an art book circa 1965 with that clown face: my mom painted it and it hung in my room till I was old enough to say "Get that creepy thing outta here "....lol... yeah, not a clown kinda person, and the John Wayne Gacey thing sealed it .......

 

Sr is also the abbreviation for señor.

 

Yep, not a clown fan myself either. I have a clown head vase here that has been sitting in my apt since I bought it many years ago. It should go in the donation bin.

 

I thought of that too but decided would be unusual to use in signature. And then... M. is an abbreviation for Maria but Emerentia isn't a surname. So I'm leaning toward a painting nun.

Debora

 

Great news! I was correct about Sister M. Emerentia (the Ursuline Sister of Mount Saint Joseph) being the artist of this painting. I got a confirmation email from a very reliable source. I will post it if he gives me permission.

 

Nun art. That's an unusual category.

Debora

 

I got permission, so here is the body of what the Ursuline Sisters' Director of Mission Advancement and Communications wrote (greeting and closing omitted):

. . . I was prepared to tell you that you were wrong about the artist of that clown painting, but I’ve learned that our Sister Emerentia Wiesner was indeed the artist. (The “M.” stood for “Mary.” In her day, many women religious took the name “Sister Mary _____” and then went by the second name.)

Sister Emerentia was an Ursuline Sister of Paola, Kan., and that community merged with the Ursuline Sisters of Mount Saint Joseph in 2008. One of the former Paola Sisters said she remembered seeing the clown painting in Sister Emerentia’s room in Paola. At one point the Senior Citizen Center in Paola – which began in the basement of the Paola convent auditorium -- offered classes in painting and it’s likely Sister Emerentia learned to paint there. That is probably why this particular clown was the subject, as people on your website noted, it must have been in a book that lots of paint classes used.

I hope that answers your question. Sister Emerentia was a wonderful woman, she sewed amazing craft items. I never knew she was a painter.

Merry Christmas . . .