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| Portrait in Red |
Henrietta Berk, the daughter of a seamstress, is known for paintings mostly done in oil on canvas resulting in
amazing bright and bold colors.
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| Yellow Still Life |
Born in Wichita, Kansas, different
sources report that Berk moved to San Francisco with her family at a young age,
while others state that she moved to the Bay Area during the 1950's. Berk
studied at both San Francisco State College and the California College of Arts
and Crafts, Oakland.
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| Point of View |
Berk's still-life paintings became a part of the Bay Area Figurative Movement which encompassed a group of artists in the San Francisco Bay area who rejected the dominant style of impressionism to favor the figure painting in the 1950's and 1960's. Berk was associated with the Bridge Generation which was one of three groups at that time - the First Generation, the Bridge Generation, and the Second Generation. As the Bay Area artists reintroduced human figures into these works, Henrietta followed this trend with her paintings.
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| The Musician |
A painting of hers which was featured in the movie, "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner," resides in the U.S. Embassy in Peru.
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| Respite |
Berk will always be remembered in San
Francisco for riding through Jack London Square dressed in a body stocking and
several wigs, "to cover the entire situation," as she put it, for a
publicity stunt posing as Lady Godiva in 1972 to raise money for the Oakland Symphony.
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| Orchard |
Later in life, Berk suffered with
blindness as a result of diabetes. Henrietta Berk was born in Wichita, Kansas
on January 9, 1919, and died in Oakland, California on January 15, 1990.
Visit the links below to enjoy more
of Henrietta Berk's stunning paintings.
SOURCES:
Henrietta Berk Research Project, The
Photos used with permission of
The Henrietta Berk Research Project
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