The Lehighton Mural

The Lehighton Mural completed in 1946 is a mural which was commissioned by the Lehighton, Pennsylvania branch of the American Legion from the painter Franz Kline depicting the town which was his home during his teenage years and was later acquired by the Allentown Art Museum.

History

In 1945 the Lehighton, Pennsylvania post of the American legion commissioned a then 35 year old Franz Kline to a create mural depicting the town where he had lived while attending Lehighton High School. The mural was completed in 1946. The mural was on display in the hall for seventy years.

The mural after years of exposure to the elements, prominent among which was cigarette smoke (not unlike the damage done to the ceiling mural of the zodiac at Grand Central Terminal by Paul Cesar Helleu) began to deteriorate. The Carbon County situated branch of the U.S. veteran's organization realizing the value of Kline's later abstract expressionist work and the time sensitive need to have the painting restored began to look for a buyer. Then in 2016 the Allentown Art Museum under the direction of David Mickenberg stepped in and purchased the work for an as yet undisclosed price. The work was restored with money secured in fundraising efforts by the Museum including a crowd sourced Kickstarter campaign . The work was restored by the New York City firm of "Luca Bonetti Painting Restoration".