By Brian Goslow
Beverly, MA – In organizing the traveling exhibition, “Theresa Bernstein: A Century of Art,” Gail Levin, Distinguished Professor at Baruch College and the Graduate Center, the City University of New York set out to posthumously earn Theresa Ferber Bernstein (1890 – 2002) her proper place on the list of great American artists.
The announcement for the show notes that when Levin was researching Edward Hopper in the 1980s she found that during the time period that the two artists’ work was being made and shown, “Bernstein’s work garnered more attention than Hopper’s.”
Not only has Bernstein been historically overlooked, few know her name. “She was erased, and there are many reasons why women artists are erased … Bernstein was born just three years after Georgia O’Keeffe. Both enjoyed great success in their time, yet only O’Keeffe achieved celebrity and lasting fame.”
The 44 works in the Endicott exhibition cover 1912-1972. “The subject of many of her works cover the big issues of Bernstein’s day and include meetings for women’s suffrage in New York City, World War I Parades, and immigrants in the 1920s. She also painted everyday scenes in New York City including large crowds with a view from above; church on a Sunday morning, Carnegie Hall, readers at the library, portraits of family members – including her husband the well known artist, William Meyeorwitz.”
Levin and other art historians will be on hand at the gallery on Friday, May 9, where there will be a gallery talk at 2 p.m. and a panel discussion from 3-4:45 p.m. Followed by a reception and book signing.
(Theresa Bernstein: A Century in Art runs from May 2 through July 11 at the Walter J. Manninen Center for the Arts, Endicott College, 376 Hale Street, Beverly, Mass. The gallery is open Tuesday and Friday from 3 p.m.-6 p.m; on Wednesday-Thursday and Saturday-Sunday from noon-6 p.m. For more information, call (978) 232-2655.)
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