The only woman featured in the famous photograph of the group of American abstract painters known as The Irascibles, Hedda Sterne maintained a rigorous career spanning eight decades. Born Hedwig Lindenberg in 1910, she transitioned from the avant-garde circles of Bucharest to the mid-century New York art scene, where she experimented with industrial materials to capture modern movement.
Early Training and Surrealist Roots
Raised in Bucharest, Sterne received early training under sculptor Frederic Storck before joining the studio of Marcel Janco. Her exposure to the city's avant-garde community fostered an early engagement with Surrealism. During the 1930s, she traveled between Romania and Paris, where she attended the Académie de la Grande Chaumière and refined her technique in the ateliers of Fernand Léger and André Lhote. By the late 1930s, she had developed a method of creating automatic collages, earning professional attention from Hans Arp.
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Sterne left Romania for New York in 1941 aboard the S.S. Excambion, following the political unrest of the Bucharest pogrom. She quickly established herself in the Manhattan art world, forming a close friendship with Peggy Guggenheim. This connection introduced her to influential Surrealists including André Breton, Max Ernst, and Marcel Duchamp. During this period, she also advised Antoine de Saint-Exupéry to utilize his own sketches for his book The Little Prince. In 1943, she began a nearly 40-year professional relationship with gallerist Betty Parsons.
The New York School
As a prominent member of the New York School, Sterne participated in the landmark Artists' Sessions at Studio 35 in 1950. Throughout that decade, she distinguished her practice within the broader movement of Abstract Expressionism by using commercial spray paint. These works focused on the depiction of light and motion, often exploring themes related to cityscapes, highways, and the American road. She remained active in the local gallery circuit, including exhibitions at the Stable Gallery, until her death in Manhattan in 2011.
Fast facts
- Born: 4 August 1910, Bucharest, Romania
- Died: 8 April 2011, Manhattan, New York
- Occupations: Painter, sculptor, and draftsperson
- Major association: New York School
- Notable gallery collaboration: Betty Parsons Gallery
- Burial site: Green-Wood Cemetery
Questions readers ask
Was Hedda Sterne a member of the group known as The Irascibles?
She appeared in the famous photograph of the group but stated later that she did not consider herself an Irascible.
What medium did she famously adopt in the 1950s?
She utilized commercial spray paint to create abstract works representing speed, light, and modern movement.
Achievements
- Movement: abstract expressionism
