Richard Bernstein

While Richard Bernstein is most widely remembered today as the creator of Andy Warhol’s Interview Magazine distinctive covers since the mid-60s he was one of the pioneers and architects of Pop Art. Blurring the line between commercial and fine art, Bernstein’s technicolor work, on canvases and magazine covers, captured the glamor, extravagance, and innovation of the Pop Art era. 

Bernstein’s career began in the early 1960s after earning a BFA from Pratt Institute and MFA from Columbia University. After a successful debut solo exhibition in 1965, he was invited to a prestigious group show at the Byron Gallery alongside Andy Warhol, Sol Lewitt, and Robert Rauschenberg. He continued to exhibit at the legendary Iris Clert Gallery in Paris, which led to exhibitions throughout Europe, Japan, and North America. In 1968, Richard moved back to New York City and into the Chelsea Hotel grand ballroom, which he converted into his art studio, and was at the center of the New York social scene that revolved around the Warhol Factory and Studio 54. While working at Andy Warhol’s Interview Magazine from 1972 until 1989, he developed an unmistakable style that is instantly recognizable as the “Bernstein Look.” His portraits helped to amplify celebrity culture that characterized this dynamic period in New York’s history. 

After his tenure at Interview, he remained active as an art director in the fashion and music industries while continuing to make his own art. In 1990, Bernstein was commissioned by the World Federation of United Nations Associations to create the first postal stamp for the new decade, placing him in the company of Warhol, Calder, and Picasso. 

Bernstein’s works are in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art, New York; Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; National Portrait Gallery, Washington D.C., Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, Hirshhorn Museum, Washington D.C.; Corcoran Art Gallery, Washington D.C., Victoria and Albert Museum, United Kingdom and has had exhibitions at the Iris Clert Gallery, Paris, Gallerie Barozzi, Venice; Gallerie Axiom, London; Gallery Monet, Amsterdam among others.