Theresa Bernstein (1890 - 2002)

Theresa was a Jewish-Polish realist painter who immigrated to the US as a child. She received a scholarship to study at the Moore College of Art and Design and was part of the “Philadelphia 10” a group of active and influential female artists. She then attended the Art Students League in New York and travelled to Europe before settling in Manhattan. Theresa married a fellow artist, and after their only child died at infancy they both dedicated their lives to painting, primarily of life in and around New York. Initially she initially received recognition during her lifetime exhibiting with Edward Hopper, but when Abstract Expressionism became popular and she focused on promoting her husband’s work, her popularity fell. In 2002 she died 17 days short of her 112th birthday. She had only stopped painting 2 years prior! In 2013 Art Professor Gail Levin launched a travelling exhibition of her work, Theresa Bernstein: A Century of Art, hoping to finally give Theresa the attention she deserves.