Richard Bernstein

Bernstein was born on October 31, 1939 in New York City to a Jewish family with an older brother and younger sister Ellen. His father Herbert Bernstein was a clothing manufacturer and his mother Florence was a homemaker who was supportive of his artistic talents. His mother first took him to the Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art children's school where he saw works by Piet Mondrian Pablo Picasso and other masters where Bernstein gained an appreciation for art and wanted to explore his interest. Bernstein got his bachelor's degree in fine arts from the Pratt Institute and M.F.A. from Columbia University.

As a fine art major, he studied with Richard Lindner while earning his B.F.A. from Pratt and his M.F.A. from Columbia University. His mastery of painting is easily seen in his brilliant portraiture. Bernstein's incredible affinity with the human face has led to works that are both figurative and iconic, reflecting both an era and culture. His incorporation of several mediums on a single canvas shows the interrelation of elements he saw in the world around him.

Bernstein launched his fine art career at the legendary Irit Clert Gallery in Paris. He had then shown at the Axiom Gallery in London, the Gallery Barozzi in Venice, the Gallery Monet in Amsterdam and several one man shows at the Nancy Hoffman Gallery in New York City.

His works are part of several major collections, including the Corcoran Gallery of Fine Art in Washing D.C., the Stejdlik Museum in Amsterdam and both the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.

In the early 1960s, he moved into the Chelsea Hotel, which became the home of Edie Sedgwick and other Warhol superstars.

In the 1970s, Bernstein met Andy Warhol and went on to become a key member of the Factory. In the 70’s, he mingled with the Warhol group and the fashionable crowd at clubs like Studio 54.

He was also art director of Calvin Klein's national billboard campaign and acting as art advisor for innumerable music videos and TV commercials.

His other work in the music industry has led to several award-winning album covers for recording artists such as Grace Jones.

In 1984, Bernstein released his first book "Megastar" commemorating his fine portraiture. The first edition of this coffee table book printed in three languages were completely sold out making it a valuable collectors item. In her introduction to the book Paloma Picasso wrote: ‘Richard Bernstein portrays stars. He celebrates their faces, he gives them larger-than-fiction size. He puts wit into the beauties, fantasy into the rich, depth into the glamorous and adds instant patina to newcomers.’ Bernstein made the up-and-coming celebrities of the era-Sylvester Stallone, Calvin Klein, Madonna, even wholesome Mary Tyler Moore-look as sleek and sexy as our nostalgic memories of that era. “Things are stronger, faster and further,” Paloma Picasso wrote of Bernstein’s oeuvre in a published collection of his work, Megastar . “Superstars became Megastars.”

In 1990, Bernstein had been commissioned by the World Federation of United Nations to create the first postal stamp of the new decade. This commission places him in the company of Warhol, Calder and Picasso who had been similarly honored.

• MOMA, New York
• Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
• Hirshhorn Museum. Washington. D.C.
• Stedelijk Museum. Amsterdam
• Foundation Vincent Van Gogh Arles, France
• National Portrait Gallery, Washington DC

Bernstein was engaged to actress, photographer Berry Berenson whom he met while they were working at Interview Magazine. Ms. Berenson later married actor Anthony Perkins. Bernstein died on October 18, 2002 in his apartment at the Hotel Chelsea of heart failure.