Archives of American Art

A Finding Aid to the Gerda Meyer Bernstein Papers, 1973-2015, in the Archives of American Art

Summary

Collection ID:
AAA.meyegerd
Creators:
Meyer Bernstein, Gerda (1923-2024)
Dates:
1973-2015
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
1.2 Linear feet
Repository:
The papers of installation artist Gerda Meyer Bernstein measure 1.2 linear feet and date from 1973 to 2015. Included are biographical materials, correspondence, ten notebooks, scattered general project files, printed material, digital recordings of interviews, and a video recording concerning Meyer Bernstein's installation Chicago Crossings: Bridges and Boundaries.

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
The papers of installation artist Gerda Meyer Bernstein measure 1.2 linear feet and date from 1973 to 2015. Included are biographical materials, correspondence, ten notebooks, scattered general project files, printed material, digital recordings of interviews, and a video recording concerning Meyer Bernstein's installation Chicago Crossings: Bridges and Boundaries.

Arrangement

Arrangement
Due to the small size of this collection the papers are arranged as one series.

Biographical / Historical

Biographical / Historical
Gerda Meyer Bernstein (1923-2024) was a Chicago, Illinois installation artist whose works comment on global issues and crises and include a number of installations dedicated to Holocaust remembrance. She used non-traditional materials including discarded objects.
Born in Westphalia, Meyer Bernstein escaped Nazi Germany on one of the last Kindertransports of 1940. She studied at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in the early 1950s and worked there as a teaching assistant before graduating with an M.F.A. in 1978. Meyer Bernstein was a founding member of the Artists in Residence Gallery and her work has been shown in the Art Institute's Chicago & Vicinity annual exhibition three times.

Administration

Author
Jayna M. Josefson
Sponsor
Processing of this collection received support from the Smithsonian American Women's History Initiative.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
The collection was donated in 2015 by Gerda Meyer Bernstein.
Processing Information
The collection was processed, and a finding aid prepared by Jayna Josefson in 2022 with support from the Smithsonian American Women's History Initiative.

Using the Collection

Conditions Governing Access
This collection is open for research. Access to original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center.
Researchers interested in accessing born-digital records or audiovisual recordings in this collection must use access copies. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Conditions Governing Use
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Preferred Citation
Gerda Meyer Bernstein papers, 1973-2015. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Installation artists -- Illinois -- Chicago Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Installations (Art) Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Women artists Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Video recordings Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Sound recordings Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

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