Judith Bernstein

Judith Bernstein (born October 14, 1942) is a New York artist best known for her phallic drawings and paintings.^[1] Bernstein uses her art as a vehicle for her outspoken feminist and anti-war activism, provocatively drawing psychological links between the two. Her best-known work features her iconic motif of an anthropomorphized screw, which has become the basis for a number of allegories and visual puns.^[2] During the beginning of the Feminist Art Movement, Bernstein was a founding member of the all-women's cooperative A.I.R. Gallery in New York.

Bernstein spent many years teaching in the School of Art+Design at SUNY Purchase College, where she is Professor Emerita. Her classes there focused on "outrageous, outscale" drawing, as well as drawing the figure. After retiring from SUNY Purchase, she experienced a rediscovery late in her career, as highlighted in her New York Magazine's 2015 profile titled “Judith Bernstein, an art star at last at 72.”^[3] She has addressed the topic of her rediscovery in an interview with The New York Times, stating “I call it a rebirth."^[4]

Throughout her life, Bernstein has also been involved in the Guerilla Girls, Art Workers' Coalition, and Fight Censorship Group.^[1][5] Her work is in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art, Whitney Museum of American Art, Brooklyn Museum, Jewish Museum, Carnegie Museum, Neuberger Museum, Migros Museum Zürich, Kunsthaus Zürich, Deste Foundation for Contemporary Art, Andy Hall Foundation, Alex Katz Foundation, and Verbund Collection.