The following was written in the last year of his life (1917-1999) for a small show someone put on for him when he was living in an assisted living facility in Medford, New Jersey:

“Gerald Bernstein spent most of his artistic life in Staten Island working in oils and watercolors.  He studied under George Bridgman and Yasua Kuniyoshi in New York’s Art Students’ League.  He was the curator of Art with the Staten Island Institute of Arts and Sciences from 1950-56, where he restored paintings, arranged numerous exhibitions, and lectured and taught extensively in painting and drawing.

“He has won numerous awards, including first prize at the renowned Weissglass Annual Show.  He has showed at the Metropolitan Museum, Wagner College, SI Community College, Manhattan’s Downtown Gallery, Staten Island Art Center and John Herron Art Institute in Indianapolis.

“Gerald was born in Indianapolis.  He attended Indiana University and received his Masters of Art at the Institute of Fine Arts, New York University. He has been in “Who’s Who in American Art.”

 information provided by Howard Bernstein, who adds:

Though he was married, he and his wife had no children.  Perhaps because of this it was always very difficult for him to part with any of his art work.   Family lore reports he turned down many opportunities to show his works, consequently I believe few are in circulation. 

Gerry and his wife took several “working” vacations each year to the upper east coast, Mexico, and the Caribbean islands.  Thus, the themes of many of his works are of those locals.  I have several series of preliminary works for a particular painting and then the final product(s).  In the later years he was fascinated with portraying light in its various effects with, in my opinion, interesting results.