URSULA STERNBERG-HERTZ

You will find Ursula's art throughout the house...

Ursula Hertz was born on April 12, 1925, in Cologne, Germany, the daughter of Walter and Dorothea Hertz. Her childhood surrounded by music and art ended abruptly in 1936, when her Jewish family fled Nazi Germany with hardly any belongings to live in the Netherlands. When the Nazis occupied that country, the family had to move into partial hiding. They later went on to occupied Belgium, hiding partially there as well. Ursula was separated from her family and hid completely in a neighbor’s attic for fear she looked too Jewish. 

Ursula started painting at a very young age, which proved to be helpful during the war, as her talents were used to help rebuild her father's apparel business that had been abandoned when they fled Germany. Ursula painted sayings on handkerchiefs for American soldiers to take back home as gifts for their families and loved ones. Doing this gave Ursula joy and helped her imagine a future commercial career. She went on to design for her father’s new business, Forma which manufactured women’s undergarments and bathing suits.

As soon as the War was over, Ursula moved to London, and worked as a textile and fashion designer for well-known brands and others, including Ascher, Caprice, Forma, Franco-Suisse, O.W. Loeb and Peter Pan Foundations. She was based in London through much of the 50s, although she spent much time traveling throughout Europe. In 1957, she married Jonathan Sternberg (1919-2018), an American orchestra conductor, musical director, and professor of music, a highly regarded musician in European circles. They initially spent five months in Nova Scotia, after which they returned to Europe where they settled in Brussels. In 1966, Ursula, Jonathan, and their two children, Peter and Tanya, moved to New York, when Jonathan Sternberg was named musical director and conductor of the Harkness Ballet. Following stints in Rochester, NY, and Atlanta, the family settled in Elkins Park, PA in 1971 as Jonathan Sternberg became professor and conductor at Temple University as. In 1989, the family moved to Chestnut Hill in Philadelphia, a community Ursula loved very much. She died on September 22, 2000, survived by her husband, Jonathan; her son, Peter; her daughter Tanya Pushkine; 

Her works have been shown in hundreds of exhibitions around the world, have appeared in multiple arts and news publications, and are also held in in museums and private collections across the globe such as the Victoria & Albert, the University of Pennsylvania, the National Arts Club, Duke University, the NY Public Library, the Rade Museum in Hamburg, and the Woodmere Museum in Philadelphia.  Ursula was interviewed by various radio and television stations, and her official biography was published in 2014 by Tricorn Books as Between Two Worlds, the Life and Art of Ursula Sternberg. You will find a copy of it in the house.