Charlotte Sternberg

Christmas Tree in Weathered Niche, Original holiday greeting card illustration

1964

Charlotte Joan Sternberg was born in Meriden, Connecticut in 1920. Early on, she became interested in art, and her parents encouraged her efforts. She attended public schools in the area, as well as taking art classes at the technical school. Afterwards, she attended the Yale School of Art. Her fellow classmates included Rudolph Zallinger, who executed the dinosaur mural at the Peabody Museum in New Haven; Jean Day Zallinger, renowned book illustrator; and Edward Paier, founder of the Paier College of Art. It was there that she became interested in egg tempera, and most of her well-known artwork was done in this medium. She was one of a number of Yale artists who revived this medium.(She did not work professionally in oils, although she sometimes used gouache or watercolor.) She went on to a long career in commercial illustration. She worked extensively for J.Walter Thompson, doing advertising art for such companies as Esso (later Exxon), Textron, and Lederle pharmaceuticals. While she did a variety of subjects, she was best known for her Americana themes, particularly snow scenes of historic New England. Many of these pieces were published as Christmas cards for American Artists Group. She also taught for many years at the Paier College of Art. She also did a number of limited edition prints for Greenwich Workshop. Her art is used on such items as tapestry pillows, puzzles, and decorative flags. She was commissioned to do several portraits, including those of Gov.John Lodge of Connecticut and President Dwight D. Eisenhower. Her artwork has been exhibited at the New Britain Museum of American Art in Connecticut and the Bennington Museum in Vermont. She lived in Connecticut throughout her life, and passed away in 2003.