page_title: Bernadine Custer
section_title: Career
hierarchical_section_title: Bernadine Custer / Career
caption_attribution_description: English: Bernadine's sketch of her house in Londonderry, VT, c. 1960s-1970s. Now home of the Londonderry Historical Society.
context_page_description: Bernadine Custer, also known as Bernadine Custer Sharp and Mrs. A.E. Sharp was a 20th-century American painter, illustrator and WPA muralist who worked in New York City and Vermont. Her artistic style has been described as "American Regionalism" and often features genre paintings and watercolors inspired by her neighbors and surroundings. Her work has been compared to other artists of her generation such as Thomas Hart Benton, Grant Wood, and Norman Rockwell.
context_section_description: In 1928, Custer's ties to the life of a working artist were reinforced through her marriage to British-born commercial artist Arthur Ernest “Jimmy” Sharp (May 20, 1886 - December 10, 1967).  Sharp and Custer met while attending an artist's retreat in the sand dunes of Saugatuck, Michigan.  The couple spent a year abroad, studying art in London and Paris before returning to settle in New York City in 1930.
  Custer divided her time teaching at the Pratt Institute, creating her own artwork, and producing commercial and editorial art for a number of magazines such as The New Yorker, Pageant, Seventeen, New Republic, Fiction Parade, and Survey Geographic.  She also enjoyed steady work as a pictorial reporter for the New York Herald-Tribune, covering the city's orchestral events.
caption: Ink and watercolor drawing (c. 1960s) of Custer's summer home in Londonderry, VT.  She bequeathed the home to the Londonderry Arts and Historical Society upon her death.
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