Beloosesky Gallery is interested in purchasing original paintings by Theresa Bernstein.
Please call (917) 749-4557 or email us at info@beloosesky.com
Theresa Bernstein was born in Philadelphia. She received her art education at the Philadelphia School of Design for Women (now Moore College of art) moving to New York City in 1912 and continued her studies in the studio of William Merritt Chase at the Art Students' League. In 1919. she married a fellow artist William Myerowitz and together they met and exhibited with many of the wonderful realists of that exciting era including Robert Henri, John Sloan, Edward Hopper, William Zorach, Milton Avery and John Marin.
A superb colorist and dynamic draftsman, Bernstein captured the energy of the urban scene and the humanity of its diverse population. "The important thing is to maintain the vivacity of your first impression, " she explained. Decade after decade, she chronicled life around her. Her work was frequently cited as masculine by the critics and sometimes distinguished artists who chose paintings for exhibits were surprised to learn that the work they had admired had been painted or etched by a woman. Bernstein may have added to the confusion by sometimes signing her work with her last name only.
Bernstein was a tireless exhibitor. There were many one-person shows in New York including the Museum of the City of New York and Grand Central Galleries. A member of the Philadelphia Ten, her works were in many exhibits, among them, the National Academy of Design, National Association of Women Artists, Audubon Artists and Allied Artists of America and consequently she received a steady stream of prizes.
Her work is in the permanent collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of the City of New York, Brooklyn Museum, Chicago Art Institute, Library of Congress, the Smithsonian and the Tel Aviv National Museum in Israel.
Biography from the Archives of AskART and Artprice
Birth place: Phila., PA
Death place: New York, NY
Addresses: NYC; East Gloucester, MA, 1998
Profession: Painter, writer, etcher
Studied: Phila. Sch. Design (now Moore College) with Henry B. Snell, Eliot Daingerfield, Daniel Garber, Harriet Sartain, Sam Murray, 1907-11; ASL with W.M. Chase
Exhibited: AIC, 1914-40; Greene Traveling Fellowship; Pan-Pac. Expo, San Fran., 1915; PAFA, 1916-38; NAD, 1916-46; Soc. Indep. Artists, 1918-44 (except for 1932); Milch Gal., NYC, 1919 (first solo); Corcoran Gal., 1921-41; Phila. Plastic Cl., 1925 (Shilliard Gold Medal); Sesqui-Centennial Intern. Expo, Phila., 1926; French Inst. Art & Letters (Jeanne d'Arc Medal);Dayton AI, 1930-38; WMAA, 1935-39; NAWA (jury awards, 1938-59); Am. Color Print Soc. (prize); Phila. Print Club (prize); GGE, 1939; CI; MMA; BMFA; BM; WMA, 1930-39; Am. Painters, MMA,1950; Smithsonian Inst.,1956; Grand Central Gal., NYC and Bar Harbor (ME) Gal., 1970s; North Shore AA, 1971 (Johnson award); NYC WPA Exh., Parsons Sch. Design, 1977; Stamford Mus. (Centennial Exh..) 1990; Mus. City of NY, 1990; J. Whalen FA, NYC, 1998 (70-year retrospective); Moore College of Art & Des., Phila., PA, 1998 (retrospective, "The Phila. Ten"); Salons of Am.
Member: North Shore AA (charter mem.); Am. Color Print Soc.; SAE; Soc. Independent Artists; Gloucester SA; CAFA; Plastic Club; Ten Phila. Painters; NAWA ; Audubon Artists Am. (jury member, 1950-); SAGA; Allied Artists Am.; NY Soc. Women Artists (dir.,1928-).
Work: AIC; LOC; PMG; BM; Princeton Univ.; Dayton AI; WMAA; MMA; Harvard Univ.; Phillips Art Gal., Wash., DC; Nat. Mus., Smithsonian Inst. Commissions: First Orchestra in Am., Treasury Dept. for Mannhein, PA, 1940; portrait of Prof. David Lyons, Harvard Univ. Biblical Mus. Faculty, 1954; portrait of Pro. Robert Pheiffer, Harvard Univ., 1956; portrait of Henrietta Szold, founder of Hadassah, 1959.
Comments: A realist painter and expressive colorist known for her urban and shoreline scenes. In 1998, at age 108, she revealed that her secret to longevity was, "I don't count." Married to painter and etcher William Meyerowitz for 62 years. Teaching: dir., summer art course, Gloucester, MA, 1932-69. WPA artist. Publications: William Meyerowitz (1958); History of Jewish Artists (1958, Zukunft); History of Cape Ann Artists (Gloucester Times, 1970); History North Shore AA (1972); History New York Soc. of Women Artists (1972).
Sources: WW73; WW47; J. B. Nelson, article, Int. Studio (1925); Dorothy Adlow, article, Christian Science Monitor (1929); E.A. Jenell, articles, New York Times, (1945); Menorah Journal (1948); Pisano, One Hundred Years...the National Association of Women Artists, 30; New York City WPA Art, 9 (w/repros.); Talbott and Sidney, The Philadelphia Ten.