The years following the Stock Market Crash of 1929 were difficult for most artists, especially those who were not members of the elite gallery circles. In 1931 Lahner moved to a working-class neighborhood south of Montparnasse where he lived in a small single room with a packed-dirt floor.

To make ends meet he took odd jobs as a painter for Paris theaters and movie producers.

Despite these difficult circumstances, Lahner developed a modestly successful international career. He exhibited his works in Paris, New York, Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo and Boston.

His work from this period includes landscapes, portrayals of animals and acrobats, as well as paintings of idealized nudes such as that in "Etude De Buste." During this time he also began to develop his abstract style.

In 1939, just before war struck Europe, Lahner painted a solemn self- portrait, one of three known to have been executed by the artist. This painting appears on the last page of this booklet.