Jemne returned to the Midwest, where she made most of her art. She completed several murals in Minnesota and Wisconsin on commission for the Section of Painting and Sculpture, which were created in public buildings such as post offices and courthouses. She also had works in local schools and similar institutions, and illustrated several books, including two by Norwegian writer Marie Hamsun translated into English.
Elsa Jemne became an advocate for art and culture in her home state of Minnesota in the early 20th century during the Great Depression. Not interested in commercial art, she traveled by bus throughout what is known as "the Iron Range of Northern Minnesota." She was commissioned to paint several murals depicting locally and regionally important themes. She completed six murals under the auspices of the Section of Painting and Sculpture, which commissioned works for United States post offices and courthouses.[3] She completed Minnesota, an allegorical depiction of her home state, in 1937, in a style that reveals the influence of both Oakey and Diego Rivera on her work.[4]
^ abMcGlauflin, ed., ’Who’s Who in American Art 1938–1939, vol.2, The American Federation of Arts, Washington D.C., 1937
^Conforti, Michael (1994). Minnesota 1900: Art and Life on the Upper Mississippi, 1890-1915. Delaware: University of Delaware Press.
^ abHolden, Robert (8 January 2014). "Rambling Around the Red Rose Girls". paintinglifestories.blog. Painting life stories/Images. Retrieved 24 August 2016.
