Harry Sternberg
Encyclopedia
Harry Sternberg was an American
painter
, printmaker
and educator. He was born in New York City on July 19, 1904 and died in Escondido, California on November 27, 2001.
and Hungary
. The family moved to Brooklyn in 1910 and Harry began orthodox Jewish religious training. At the age of nine he began to take art classes at the Brooklyn Museum of Art. From 1922 until 1926 he trained at the Art Students League of New York
. He rented his first studio in Greenwich Village
in 1926 and began his career in etching, printmaking and painting.
for the first time. He was appointed in 1933 to the staff of the Art Students League of New York
where he would remain an instructor for the next 35 years. After meeting Diego Rivera
, the prominent Mexican muralist, and his wife Frida Kahlo
in 1934 he became more politically active in union and socialist causes. In 1935 he was appointed a technical advisor to the Graphic Art Division, Federal Art Project
(FAP).
He was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship
in 1936 and spent the year studying the conditions of workers in coal mines and steel mills. His drawings, etchings and paintings depicting life in industrial America influenced his post office mural designs especially in Lakeview, Chicago, IL.
. This artwork was commissioned by the former United States Department of the Treasury
Section of Painting and Sculpture
, later known as the Section of Fine Arts. Later that year Sternberg traveled to Chicago. There he studied the city’s history, architecture, industry, and workers. He returned to his New York studio and painted Chicago: Epoch of a Great City, for the Lakeview post office in Chicago. The mural is a powerful depiction of the history of the city from its first settlement of Fort Dearborn
to the Great Fire
to the life in the stock yards and steel mills and onward into the future. Life for the workers in Chicago’s stockyards
and steel mills was graphically described in 1906 by Upton Sinclair
in his novel The Jungle
and the Lakeview mural captures much of this history.
He married Mary Gosney in 1939 and their family including their baby daughter are depicted in his mural for the Ambler, Pennsylvania
post office: The Family - Industry and Agriculture. In fact, he was fond of self-portraits and he also painted his likeness into the scientist figure in his mural for the Lakeview post office.
where he continued to work for 35 more years. In 1990 he published a collection of prints: Sternberg: A Life in Woodcuts, one of which depicts his painting of the Lakeview post office mural. In 2001 his life and work were celebrated by a major retrospective exhibition: No Sun Without Shadow: The Art of Harry Sternberg at the Museum–California Center for the Arts, Escondido, California
. The catalog of this exhibition was researched and written by Ellen Fleurov the Museum director. Harry Sternberg died on November 27, 2001 in Escondido. He had previously written and published two books: a book on composition
called Composition: The Anatomy of Picture Making, and a book on woodblock
cutting and printing called WOODCUT.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
painter
Painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
, printmaker
Printmaking
Printmaking is the process of making artworks by printing, normally on paper. Printmaking normally covers only the process of creating prints with an element of originality, rather than just being a photographic reproduction of a painting. Except in the case of monotyping, the process is capable...
and educator. He was born in New York City on July 19, 1904 and died in Escondido, California on November 27, 2001.
Childhood, family life, and education
Sternberg's parents had immigrated from RussiaRussia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
and Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
. The family moved to Brooklyn in 1910 and Harry began orthodox Jewish religious training. At the age of nine he began to take art classes at the Brooklyn Museum of Art. From 1922 until 1926 he trained at the Art Students League of New York
Art Students League of New York
The Art Students League of New York is an art school located on West 57th Street in New York City. The League has historically been known for its broad appeal to both amateurs and professional artists, and has maintained for over 130 years a tradition of offering reasonably priced classes on a...
. He rented his first studio in Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village, , , , .in New York often simply called "the Village", is a largely residential neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City. A large majority of the district is home to upper middle class families...
in 1926 and began his career in etching, printmaking and painting.
Early career
In 1931 his work was exhibited at The Whitney Museum of American ArtWhitney Museum of American Art
The Whitney Museum of American Art, often referred to simply as "the Whitney", is an art museum with a focus on 20th- and 21st-century American art. Located at 945 Madison Avenue at 75th Street in New York City, the Whitney's permanent collection contains more than 18,000 works in a wide variety of...
for the first time. He was appointed in 1933 to the staff of the Art Students League of New York
Art Students League of New York
The Art Students League of New York is an art school located on West 57th Street in New York City. The League has historically been known for its broad appeal to both amateurs and professional artists, and has maintained for over 130 years a tradition of offering reasonably priced classes on a...
where he would remain an instructor for the next 35 years. After meeting Diego Rivera
Diego Rivera
Diego María de la Concepción Juan Nepomuceno Estanislao de la Rivera y Barrientos Acosta y Rodríguez was a prominent Mexican painter born in Guanajuato, Guanajuato, an active communist, and husband of Frida Kahlo . His large wall works in fresco helped establish the Mexican Mural Movement in...
, the prominent Mexican muralist, and his wife Frida Kahlo
Frida Kahlo
Frida Kahlo de Rivera was a Mexican painter, born in Coyoacán, and perhaps best known for her self-portraits....
in 1934 he became more politically active in union and socialist causes. In 1935 he was appointed a technical advisor to the Graphic Art Division, Federal Art Project
Federal Art Project
The Federal Art Project was the visual arts arm of the Great Depression-era New Deal Works Progress Administration Federal One program in the United States. It operated from August 29, 1935, until June 30, 1943. Reputed to have created more than 200,000 separate works, FAP artists created...
(FAP).
He was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship
Guggenheim Fellowship
Guggenheim Fellowships are American grants that have been awarded annually since 1925 by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the arts." Each year, the foundation makes...
in 1936 and spent the year studying the conditions of workers in coal mines and steel mills. His drawings, etchings and paintings depicting life in industrial America influenced his post office mural designs especially in Lakeview, Chicago, IL.
New Deal
In 1937 he painted his first post office mural: Carrying the Mail for Sellersville, PennsylvaniaSellersville, Pennsylvania
Sellersville is a borough in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 4,249 at the 2010 census. Sellersville is part of Pennridge School District.-Geography:Sellersville is located at ....
. This artwork was commissioned by the former United States Department of the Treasury
United States Department of the Treasury
The Department of the Treasury is an executive department and the treasury of the United States federal government. It was established by an Act of Congress in 1789 to manage government revenue...
Section of Painting and Sculpture
Section of Painting and Sculpture
The Treasury Section of Painting and Sculpture , commonly known as "the Section," was established in 1934 and administered by the Procurement Division of the United States Department of the Treasury....
, later known as the Section of Fine Arts. Later that year Sternberg traveled to Chicago. There he studied the city’s history, architecture, industry, and workers. He returned to his New York studio and painted Chicago: Epoch of a Great City, for the Lakeview post office in Chicago. The mural is a powerful depiction of the history of the city from its first settlement of Fort Dearborn
Fort Dearborn
Fort Dearborn was a United States fort built in 1803 beside the Chicago River in what is now Chicago, Illinois. It was constructed by troops under Captain John Whistler and named in honor of Henry Dearborn, then United States Secretary of War. The original fort was destroyed following the Battle of...
to the Great Fire
Great Chicago Fire
The Great Chicago Fire was a conflagration that burned from Sunday, October 8, to early Tuesday, October 10, 1871, killing hundreds and destroying about in Chicago, Illinois. Though the fire was one of the largest U.S...
to the life in the stock yards and steel mills and onward into the future. Life for the workers in Chicago’s stockyards
Union Stock Yards
The Union Stock Yard & Transit Co., or The Yards, was the meat packing district in Chicago for over a century starting in 1865. The district was operated by a group of railroad companies that acquired swampland, and turned it to a centralized processing area...
and steel mills was graphically described in 1906 by Upton Sinclair
Upton Sinclair
Upton Beall Sinclair Jr. , was an American author who wrote close to one hundred books in many genres. He achieved popularity in the first half of the twentieth century, acquiring particular fame for his classic muckraking novel, The Jungle . It exposed conditions in the U.S...
in his novel The Jungle
The Jungle
The Jungle is a 1906 novel written by journalist Upton Sinclair. Sinclair wrote the novel with the intention of portraying the life of the immigrant in the United States, but readers were more concerned with the large portion of the book pertaining to the corruption of the American meatpacking...
and the Lakeview mural captures much of this history.
He married Mary Gosney in 1939 and their family including their baby daughter are depicted in his mural for the Ambler, Pennsylvania
Ambler, Pennsylvania
Ambler is a borough in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, in the United States, approximately 16 miles north of Philadelphia.- Village of Wissahickon:...
post office: The Family - Industry and Agriculture. In fact, he was fond of self-portraits and he also painted his likeness into the scientist figure in his mural for the Lakeview post office.
Retirement
In 1966 he retired from the Art Students League and the Sternbergs moved to Escondido, CaliforniaEscondido, California
Escondido is a city occupying a shallow valley ringed by rocky hills, just north of the city of San Diego, California. Founded in 1888, it is one of the oldest cities in San Diego County. The city had a population of 143,911 at the 2010 census. Its municipal government set itself an operating...
where he continued to work for 35 more years. In 1990 he published a collection of prints: Sternberg: A Life in Woodcuts, one of which depicts his painting of the Lakeview post office mural. In 2001 his life and work were celebrated by a major retrospective exhibition: No Sun Without Shadow: The Art of Harry Sternberg at the Museum–California Center for the Arts, Escondido, California
Escondido, California
Escondido is a city occupying a shallow valley ringed by rocky hills, just north of the city of San Diego, California. Founded in 1888, it is one of the oldest cities in San Diego County. The city had a population of 143,911 at the 2010 census. Its municipal government set itself an operating...
. The catalog of this exhibition was researched and written by Ellen Fleurov the Museum director. Harry Sternberg died on November 27, 2001 in Escondido. He had previously written and published two books: a book on composition
Composition (visual arts)
In the visual arts – in particular painting, graphic design, photography and sculpture – composition is the placement or arrangement of visual elements or ingredients in a work of art or a photograph, as distinct from the subject of a work...
called Composition: The Anatomy of Picture Making, and a book on woodblock
Woodblock printing
Woodblock printing is a technique for printing text, images or patterns used widely throughout East Asia and originating in China in antiquity as a method of printing on textiles and later paper....
cutting and printing called WOODCUT.
See also
- Art Students League of New YorkArt Students League of New YorkThe Art Students League of New York is an art school located on West 57th Street in New York City. The League has historically been known for its broad appeal to both amateurs and professional artists, and has maintained for over 130 years a tradition of offering reasonably priced classes on a...
- New Masses
- Federal Art ProjectFederal Art ProjectThe Federal Art Project was the visual arts arm of the Great Depression-era New Deal Works Progress Administration Federal One program in the United States. It operated from August 29, 1935, until June 30, 1943. Reputed to have created more than 200,000 separate works, FAP artists created...
- Works Progress AdministrationWorks Progress AdministrationThe Works Progress Administration was the largest and most ambitious New Deal agency, employing millions of unskilled workers to carry out public works projects, including the construction of public buildings and roads, and operated large arts, drama, media, and literacy projects...
External links
- Figureworks.com/20th Century work at www.figureworks.com
- Comrades in Art: Harry Sternberg