Hedda Sterne papers
name: label: Creator
content: Sterne, Hedda, 1910-
label: Names
content: Mathieu, Georges, 1921- -- Photographs
label: Names
content: Saint-Exupéry, Antoine de, 1900-1944
label: Names
content: Steinberg, Saul
label: Names
content: Werth, Léon, 1878-1955
topic: label: Topic
content: Painting, Modern -- 20th century -- New York (State) -- New York
label: Topic
content: Painters -- New York (State) -- New York
label: Topic
content: Women artists
label: Topic
content: Women painters
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: Hedda Sterne donated her papers in 1970, 1971, and 1972.
creator: label: Creator
content: Sterne, Hedda, 1910-
setName: label: See more items in
content: Hedda Sterne papers
abstract: label: Summary
content: The papers of painter Hedda Sterne measure 1.3 linear feet and date from 1939 to 1977. Found within the papers are biographical material; personal and professional correspondence, including extensive correspondence from  Sterne's second husband Saul Steinberg, the artist known for his New Yorker  drawings; writings; exhibition files; printed material; drawings and 3 sketchbooks;  photographs and slides of Sterne, her family, and her work; and originals of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's work Lettre A Leon Werth and 4 drawings Saint-Exupéry sent to Sterne.
bioghist: label: Biographical / Historical
content: Painter Hedda Sterne (1910-2011) lived in New York City and was known for working in many artistic styles, including surrealism and abstract expressionism. She was the only woman in the group of abstract expressionists known as "The Irascibles."

Sterne was born in Bucharest, Romania to Simon Lindenberg, a high school language teacher, and his wife Eugenie. Her early interest in art was encouraged by her family and, after graduating from high school at the age of seventeen, she traveled to Vienna to study art. In 1932, she married childhood friend and businessman Frederick Stern. Through the 1930s, she continued to develop as an artist, traveling between Bucharest and Paris, where she attended Fernand Léger's atelier for a time. In 1938, her work with torn paper collages at that year's Paris Salon caught the eye of Hans Arp, who convinced her to exhibit at Peggy Guggenheim's London gallery. The chaos and persecution of Jews during World War II precipitated Sterne's arrival in America, where she joined her husband in New York City.  

In New York, Peggy Guggenheim welcomed Sterne into her circle of artist friends and invited her to exhibit in Guggenheim's gallery in New York City, Art of This Century. In 1944, Sterne married Saul Steinberg, the artist known for his New Yorker drawings, and became a U.S. citizen. Through the 1940s, Sterne created works in realist and surrealist styles, but by the late 1940s, she began exploring abstract expressionism. In 1943, Sterne exhibited at the Wakefield Gallery, where she met the gallery manager Betty Parsons and where she received her first one woman show in 1945. After Betty Parsons opened her own gallery in 1946, Sterne joined Parsons' stable and continued to meet and befriend other prominent abstract artists. In 1950, she signed an open letter along with 14 other artists protesting the Metropolitan Museum's conservatism towards abstract art. This led to a feature article in Life magazine where she was the only woman to be photographed alongside "The Irascibles." This group included Jackson Pollock, Willem de Kooning, Barnett Newman, Mark Rothko, and Ad Reinhardt, among others. Through the 1950s, Sterne continued to explore new avenues of art by painting cityscapes, abstract mechanical structures, portraits, and faces, and by using mediums ranging from oil, spray paint, pen and ink, pencil, and diary/text reproductions on stretched canvas.  

In 1960, Sterne and Steinberg separated but remained friends until his death in 1999. The recipient of numerous awards and one woman shows, retrospectives of her work were exhibited at the Montclair Art Museum (1977), Queens Museum of Art (1985), and the Krannert Art Museum (2006). Sterne died in her home in Manhattan in 2011 at the age of 100.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 1.3 Linear Feet
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1939-1977
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives of American Art
identifier: label: Identifier
content: AAA.sterhedd
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Photographs
label: Type
content: Transcripts
label: Type
content: Sketchbooks
label: Type
content: Drawings
label: Type
content: Interviews
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: The collection is arranged as 8 series.

Series 1: Biographical materials, 1941-1970 (8 folders; Box 1)

Series 2: Correspondence, circa 1943-1965 (0.5 linear feet; Box 1-2)

Series 3: Writings, circa 1945-1965 (5 folders; Box 1)

Series 4: Exhibitions, 1970 (3 folders; Box 1)

Series 5: Printed material, 1946-1977 (3 folders; Box 1)

Series 6: Artwork, circa 1945-1965 (4 folders; Box 1)

Series 7: Photographic Materials, 1939-1969 (0.3 linear feet; Box 1-2)

Series 8: Antoine de Saint Exupéry, circa 1942 (4 folders; Box 1)
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: Portions of the papers were microfilmed on reels 144-145 and reel 5028 shortly after their receipt. Previously microfilmed and unmicrofilmed papers were merged, processed, and described by Judy Ng in 2013 with funding provided by the Terra Foundation for American Art. The collection was digitized in 2016 with funding provided by the Hedda Sterne Foundation.
altformavail: label: Existence and Location of Copies
content: The collection was digitized in its entirety in 2016 and is available on the Archives of American Art's website.
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Photographs
label: Genre/Form
content: Transcripts
label: Genre/Form
content: Sketchbooks
label: Genre/Form
content: Drawings
label: Genre/Form
content: Interviews
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: The papers of painter Hedda Sterne measure 1.3 linear feet and date from 1939 to 1977. Found within the papers are biographical material; personal and professional correspondence, including extensive correspondence from  Sterne's second husband Saul Steinberg, the artist known for his New Yorker  drawings; writings; exhibition files; printed material; drawings and 3 sketchbooks;  photographs and slides of Sterne, her family, and her work; and originals of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's work Lettre A Leon Werth and 4 drawings Saint-Exupéry sent to Sterne.

Biographical material includes certificates, curriculum vitae, a Fulbright application, lists of artworks, and Saul Steinberg's fingerprints. Correspondence is primarily with Sterne's friends, and business associates. There is  significant correspondence from the artist Georges Mathieu and from her second husband Saul Steinberg. 

Writings consist of numerous miscellaneous handwritten and typescript notes on art. Exhibition files include an article, interview transcript, and press release for Sterne's 1970 exhibition Everyone at the Betty Parsons Gallery. Printed material includes cards, clippings, exhibition announcements, and an exhibition catalog.

Artwork consists of drawings and 3 sketchbooks. Photographs are of Sterne, her family and friends, and her artwork. Materials related to Antoine de Saint-Exupéry include copies of his Lettre A Leon Werth and 4 drawings Saint-Exupéry sent to Sterne.
relatedmaterial: label: Related Materials
content: Also found in the Archives is an oral history interview with Hedda Sterne conducted by Phyllis Tuchman, December 17, 1981, for the Archives of American Art's Mark Rothko and His Times oral history project. Additional correspondence and photographs of Sterne are located in the Saul Steinberg papers at the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library at Yale University.