Bernadine Custer (June 16, 1900 - November 2, 1991), also known as Bernadine Custer Sharp and Mrs. A.E. Sharp was a 20th-century American painter, illustrator and WPA muralist who worked in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

and

Vermont Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provinces and territories of Ca ...

. Her artistic style has been described as " American Regionalism" and often features genre paintings and watercolors inspired by her neighbors and surroundings. Her work has been compared to other artists of her generation such as Thomas Hart Benton,

Grant Wood Grant DeVolson Wood (February 13, 1891February 12, 1942) was an American artist and representative of Regionalism (art), Regionalism, best known for his paintings depicting the rural American Midwest. He is particularly well known for ''America ...

, and

Norman Rockwell Norman Percevel Rockwell (February 3, 1894 – November 8, 1978) was an American painter and illustrator. His works have a broad popular appeal in the United States for their reflection of Culture of the United States, the country's culture. Roc ...

Early life and education

Born Anna Bernadine Custer on June 16, 1900, in

Normal, Illinois Normal is a town in McLean County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the town's population was 52,736. Normal is the smaller of two principal cities of the Bloomington–Normal metropolitan area, and is I ...

, she was the second of five children of Frank and Lena Amstadt Custer. Custer began to hone her natural talents in her hometown as she attended Illinois State Normal University (now

Illinois State University Illinois State University (ISU) is a public research university in Normal, Illinois, United States. It was founded in 1857 as Illinois State Normal University and is the oldest public university in Illinois. The university emphasizes teachin ...

) for two years. She continued her education at the

Art Institute of Chicago The Art Institute of Chicago, founded in 1879, is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the United States. The museum is based in the Art Institute of Chicago Building in Chicago's Grant Park (Chicago), Grant Park. Its collection, stewa ...

. Following her college years, she returned to teach and perform special projects at her alma maters.

Career

In 1928, Custer's ties to the life of a working artist were reinforced through her marriage to British-born commercial artist Arthur Ernest “Jimmy” Sharp (May 20, 1886 - December 10, 1967). Sharp and Custer met while attending an artist's retreat in the sand dunes of Saugatuck, Michigan. The couple spent a year abroad, studying art in London and Paris before returning to settle in New York City in 1930. Custer divided her time teaching at the

Pratt Institute Pratt Institute is a private university with its main campus in Brooklyn, New York. It has an additional campus in Manhattan and an extension campus in Utica, New York at the Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute. The institute was founded in 18 ...

, creating her own artwork, and producing commercial and editorial art for a number of magazines such as

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. It was founded on February 21, 1925, by Harold Ross and his wife Jane Grant, a reporter for ''The New York T ...

Pageant Pageant(s) or The Pageant(s) may refer to: Events * Procession or ceremony in elaborate costume * Beauty pageant, or beauty contest * List of pageants of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints * Medieval pageant, a narrative medieval pro ...

, Seventeen, New Republic, Fiction Parade, and Survey Geographic. She also enjoyed steady work as a pictorial reporter for the

New York Herald-Tribune The ''New York Herald Tribune'' was a newspaper published between 1924 and 1966. It was created in 1924 when Ogden Mills Reid of the ''New York Tribune'' acquired the ''New York Herald''. It was regarded as a "writer's newspaper" and competed ...

, covering the city's orchestral events. The Custer Sharp House in Londonderry

Exhibitions

In addition to her commercial efforts, Custer's career was even more prolific as a gallery artist. Her larger exhibition credits include the Chicago Art Institute Annual, the Corcoran Biennial Exhibition, the Cincinnati Museum Annual, the

Brooklyn Museum The Brooklyn Museum is an art museum in the New York City borough (New York City), borough of Brooklyn. At , the museum is New York City's second largest and contains an art collection with around 500,000 objects. Located near the Prospect Heig ...

International Watercolor Show, the

Pennsylvania Academy The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA) is a museum and private art school in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1805, it is the longest continuously operating art museum and art school in the United States. The academy's museum ...

Annual Exhibition, and the Philadelphia Watercolor Club shows, among others. She often showed work in exhibits with the Contemporary Arts Gallery and New York's Midtown Gallery, including single-artist shows. Custer's work can be found in the permanent collections of the

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art, colloquially referred to as the Met, is an Encyclopedic museum, encyclopedic art museum in New York City. By floor area, it is the List of largest museums, third-largest museum in the world and the List of larg ...

, the

Brooklyn Museum of Art The Brooklyn Museum is an art museum in the New York City borough (New York City), borough of Brooklyn. At , the museum is New York City's second largest and contains an art collection with around 500,000 objects. Located near the Prospect Heig ...

, the

Smithsonian Museum of American Art The Smithsonian American Art Museum (SAAM; formerly the National Museum of American Art) is a museum in Washington, D.C., part of the Smithsonian Institution. Together with its branch museum, the Renwick Gallery, SAAM holds one of the world's lar ...

, the

Whitney Museum The Whitney Museum of American Art, known informally as "The Whitney", is a Modern art, modern and Contemporary art, contemporary American art museum located in the Meatpacking District, Manhattan, Meatpacking District and West Village neighbor ...

, the

Detroit Institute of Arts The Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA) is a museum institution located in Midtown Detroit, Michigan. It has list of largest art museums, one of the largest and most significant art collections in the United States. With over 100 galleries, it cove ...

, the

Addison Gallery of American Art Addison may refer to: Places Canada * Addison, Ontario, a community United States * Addison, Alabama, a town * Addison, Illinois, a village * Addison, Kentucky, an unincorporated community * Addison, Maine, a town * Addison, Michigan, a vil ...

, and

Williams College Williams College is a Private college, private liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Williamstown, Massachusetts, United States. It was established as a men's college in 1793 with funds from the estate of Ephraim ...

Murals

Custer was twice awarded mural commissions for the Treasury Art Project under the

Roosevelt Roosevelt most often refers to two American presidents: * Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919, president 1901–1909), 26th president of the United States * Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882–1945, president 1933–death), 32nd president of the United State ...

administration's

New Deal The New Deal was a series of wide-reaching economic, social, and political reforms enacted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the United States between 1933 and 1938, in response to the Great Depression in the United States, Great Depressi ...

; her murals can be seen at the post offices of Woodstock, VT and Summerville, SC. She remained affiliated with the Treasury Art Project, and its descendants, the Federal Artist's Project and the Public Works of Art Project, until they were dissolved in 1943. Two of Custer's watercolors were among the federally sponsored artworks that were allocated to th
T. W. Wood Gallery
in Montpelier, Vermont, and they remain in this museum's permanent collection. Custer's preferred medium was a combination of pen-and-ink with watercolor, which allowed her to add a sense of frantic energy to her work. Like many female artists, her subject matter was often focused on her daily surroundings.

Later years

Custer and her husband divided their time between

and Londonderry, VT, where they restored an 1840 farmhouse. In Vermont, Custer and Sharp were dedicated members of the Southern Vermont Arts Center. Bernadine Custer died on November 2, 1991, in Ludlow, Vermont. Upon her death, she bequeathed her Londonderry farmhouse to the Londonderry Arts and Historical Society. The Londonderry Historical Society now runs the Bernadine Custer Sharp House as a temporary gallery space during the summer months. The Historical Society also holds much of her artwork in their collection. Custer's personal papers can be found at the

University of Vermont The University of Vermont and State Agricultural College, commonly referred to as the University of Vermont (UVM), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Burlington, Vermont, United States. Foun ...

."Bernadine Custer Papers." University of Vermont Special Collections. http://cdi.uvm.edu/findingaids/collection/custer.ead.xml New York City Street

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Custer, Bernadine 1900 births 1991 deaths 20th-century American painters People from Normal, Illinois Artists from Vermont Artists from Illinois