Theresa Bernstein

Theresa Bernstein found early recognition for her art in her hometown of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, when she received a scholarship to the Philadelphia School of Design for Women (now Moore College of Art and Design). Her studies continued when she moved to New York in 1912 to attend the Art Students League. There she befriended and worked with important American artists such as William Merritt Chase, Robert Henri, and later John Sloan, Stuart Davis, and Edward Hopper. Bernstein and her husband, artist William Meyerowitz, lived near Times Square and Central Park, allowing her to capture scenes of urban life, includng  parades, parks, and concerts. She matched the vitality of her subjects with large, sweeping brushstrokes and bold colors.

Bernstein and Meyerowitz often summered in Gloucester, Massachusetts, where she completed many of her beach and harbor scenes. It was important to Bernstein that she always maintain a contemporary approach to her work, which she continued for nearly one hundred years until her death in 2002.