1878-1957
A painter, muralist and sculptor, Sterne came to New York in 1889. He supported himself by selling newspapers, working in a bronze factory, for a map engraver and as a bartender. He studied mechanical drawing at Cooper Union (1892) and at the National Academy (1894-97) under Ward, Maynard and Turner. He and Van Dearing Perrine and other Academy students formed the Country Sketch Club and had a small show at the Academy in 1902. In 1903 he was teaching assistant to James D. Smilie, NAD etching instructor, and in 1904 he won the first Mooney travelling scholarship. He remained abroad until 1914. His travels included a long stay in Paris, Greece, Egypt, India, Burma, Java and Bali. He returned to New York with a large body of work which attracted immediate applause. He painted in Croton-on-Hudson, New York, Provincetown, MA and Toas, NM. In 1917 he married Mabel Dodge in Provincetown; the marriage only lasted a few years.
In 1918 he purchased a 41 room castle in Anticoli-Corrado, Italy, near Rome, and he returned there yearly until 1933. In 1923 he married Vera Segal, a ballet dancer. After 1944 he spent summers in Provincetown.
His major commissions include: The Monument to Early Settlers, Worcester, MA (1926); Welcoming the People, Fairmont Park, Philadelphia; and twenty murals for the library of the Department of Justice (1941). He taught at the Art Students League and at his own school in Mt. Kisco, New York. In 1933 there was a retrospective exhibition of his work at the Museum of Modern Art. He served on the National Fine Arts Commission 1946-1952.
In 1918 he purchased a 41 room castle in Anticoli-Corrado, Italy, near Rome, and he returned there yearly until 1933. In 1923 he married Vera Segal, a ballet dancer. After 1944 he spent summers in Provincetown.
His major commissions include: The Monument to Early Settlers, Worcester, MA (1926); Welcoming the People, Fairmont Park, Philadelphia; and twenty murals for the library of the Department of Justice (1941). He taught at the Art Students League and at his own school in Mt. Kisco, New York. In 1933 there was a retrospective exhibition of his work at the Museum of Modern Art. He served on the National Fine Arts Commission 1946-1952.
