American Monotypes from the Baker/Pisano Collection | Page 65

Albert Sterner (American, b. England, 1863–1946)
Portrait of Marie, n.d.

Monotype, 12 x 9 in.
Collection of The Heckscher Museum, Huntington, New York. Gift of
the Baker/Pisano Collection, 2001.9.234

Born in London to American parents, Sterner spent his childhood in England and Germany before moving with his family
to Chicago sometime between 1879 and 1882. He later went
on to study art in London at the Birmingham Art Institute and
in Paris at the Académie Julian, and exhibited in the United
States and throughout Europe to award-winning acclaim.
Sterner made a number of monotypes, while also working in
most other media. As in his many illustrations, Sterner’s strong
draftsmanship is evident in his monotypes, remarkable in their
bold and forthright manner. His wife, Marie Walther Sterner,
the subject of this monotype, was a noted art dealer; she
opened her gallery in 1923 and showed contemporary artists
including George Biddle, Marcel Duchamp, John Sloan, and
William Zorach. A well-respected member of the American
art community of his day, in 1934, Sterner became an academician at the National Academy of Design and enjoyed success
throughout his career.
NOTES:
Burke, American Paintings in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, 452–454.

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