Harry Sternberg was an artist and ultimately the director of the New York Art Student's League back in the 30's, during a time of wonderful intellectual ferment. He was prolific throughout his career, becoming recognized as a leading teacher of the art of print-making. His etchings and prints of the West Virginia coal mining country, perhaps the first of his successful (recognized!) projects, reflected his life-long passion for people, their struggles, their humanity in inhumane conditions, and the dignity and love which cannot be separated from individual persons who, despite their circumstances, carve out lives on this planet.
He moved to the west of the United States, ultimately to Escondido, California where he maintained his last studio and his home for many years, his art reflecting the bright colors and dramatic edges of the western landscape, teaching in the mountains at the Idyllwild School of Music and the Arts (ISOMATA) where he guided and inspired hundreds of art students to explore the limits of their visual perception through the practical effort to express it in painting.
He was much beloved by all who knew him.
