The Milliners

1921

Theresa F. Bernstein (American, born Austro-Hungarian Empire (now Poland), 1890–2002)

In The Milliners, Theresa Bernstein depicted a group of women sewing accessories on hats, exploring the aesthetic qualities of community and concentration. The window at upper left suggests that they are in a city apartment, perhaps undertaking piecework at home to earn extra income.

An important voice in early American modernism, Bernstein celebrated the vibrancy and variety of immigrant and working class experiences in 20th-century New York. Born in Krakow, she trained at the Philadelphia School of Design for Women, a noted center for female professionalism in the arts. Bernstein pursued a dynamic style of realism throughout her long career, working well past the age of 100.

Status: On View, Gallery 272
Department: Arts of the Americas

Artist: Theresa F. Bernstein
Title: The Milliners
Place: United States (Artist's nationality:)
Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.: 1921
Medium: Oil on canvas
Inscriptions: Signed and dated upper right: T Bernstein 21
Dimensions: 102.2 × 127.6 cm (40 1/4 × 50 1/4 in.)
Credit Line: Through prior bequest of Arthur Rubloff
Reference Number: 2019.1200

Syracuse, NY, Syracuse Museum of Fine Arts, Paintings by Theresa F. Bernstein and a Group of Colored Etchings by William Meyerowitz, Theresa F. Bernstein, Ellen Day Hale, Gabrielle De V. Clements, Dec. 1921, cat. 2.
New York, Fine Arts Society, Twenty–Third Annual Exhibition of the National Association of Women Painters and Sculptors, Oct. 16–30, 1923, cat. 22.
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, 1925, cat. 407.
Art Institute of Chicago, Thirty–Eighth Annual Exhibition of American Paintings and Sculpture, Oct. 29–Dec. 13, 1925, cat. 21.
Minneapolis Institute of Arts, American Paintings from the Chicago Annual Exhibition, Dec. 24, 1925–Jan. 22 [?], 1926, no cat.
Knoxville, TN, Knoxville Museum of Art, American Women Artists: The Twentieth Century, Oct. 27, 1989–Feb. 4, 1990, no cat. no (ill. cover); Bayside, NY, Queensborough Community College Art Gallery, Mar. 11–Apr. 5, 1990.
Museum of the City of New York, Echoes of New York: The Paintings of Theresa Bernstein, Nov. 20, 1990–Mar. 31, 1991, no cat. no (ill.).
New York, James Gallery, Graduate Center of the City University of New York, Theresa Bernstein: A Century in Art, Nov. 12, 2013–Jan. 18, 2014, cat. 69; Lancaster, PA, Phillips Museum, Franklin and Marshall College, Feb. 7–Apr. 12, 2014; Beverly, MA, Walter J. Manninen Center for the Arts, Endicott College, May 2–July 13, 2014; Philadelphia, Woodmere Art Museum, July 26–Oct. 26, 2014; and Boca Raton, FL, Boca Raton Museum of Art, Nov. 9, 2014–Jan. 11, 2015.

The artist, New York; Lepore Fine Arts, Newburyport, MA, 1987 [email, August 29, 2019 in curatorial object file]; consigned to Comenos Fine Arts, Boston, by 1993; Farla Krentzman (1929–2015), Brookline, MA, 1993; Estate of Farla Krentzman, 2015; consigned to Debra Force Fine Art, New York, by 2019; sold to the Art Institute of Chicago, 2019.

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