Americana Winter Scene Ice Skaters Mid-Century

This charming rural winter scene of ice skaters fully displays Norman Rockwell's America, but it was painted by female artist Charlotte Joan Sternberg. She combines the mid-century Americana subject matter of Norman Rockwell with her highly feminine style of showing an expansive vista populated by carefully and precisely rendered small figures. The work was executed in egg tempera on masonite. Signed lower right: Charlotte Joan Sternberg. Signed and dated on verso.
The painting looks better in person. The uploaded video on 1stDibs is coming up a bit off color. Refer to the still images for more accurate color Framed size 24.75 x 20.5

Sternberg was born in Meriden, Connecticut in 1920. Her parents encouraged her interest in art. She attended Yale University and received a degree in fine art in 1942. While at school Charlotte hung out with her Yale friends at the restaurant, George and Harry's, north of the New Haven green. She was there when the news of the attack on Pearl Harbor arrived at Yale. She described the chaos of everyone yelling and running around. The war colored the experiences of the students including Charlotte. She painted portraits of injured and ill soldiers during World War II. She painted a portrait for Dwight Eisenhower during his presidency. It was also during this time that she discovered egg tempera. Egg tempera was enjoying a small revival at Yale. Professors such as Louis York and Daniel V. Thompson (author of The Practice of Tempera Painting) had rediscovered ancient techniques that had not been widely used since the Renaissance. This became her preferred medium for her paintings.
Personal life
Textron fabrics ad, painted by C. J. Sternberg (1948)

Condition: Scattered light foxing is visible only on close inspection. Frame rubbing on the extreme perimeter and mostly covered by the frames rabbet. Some possible inpainting, Overall good condition for a painting 75 years old

In 1953 she married Arthur Koch and they had a daughter - Carla Sternberg Koch.
Career and later life

She resided in New England and found inspiration from the region for her work. While she primarily painted portraits in her early career, she is most recognized for her landscapes. She painted farms and small American towns. Egg tempera was her preferred medium.[1] Charlotte became a commercial illustrator. She worked for companies such as J. Walter Thompson, the advertising agency, creating artwork for Esso (later Exxon), Textron, and Lederle Pharmaceuticals. In 1945 she became involved with Associated American Artists (AAA). Many of her snow scenes of New England were printed on Christmas cards over the next 50 years. Sternberg also designed a textile print that was marketed by AAA and produced by M. Lowenstein & Sons as part of the Signature Fabrics series.[4] Along with the portrait of Eisenhower she was also commissioned to paint Gov. John Lodge of Connecticut in the 60's. Her artwork was also exhibited in one-woman shows at the New Britain Museum of American Art in Connecticut and the Bennington Museum in Vermont and is in many private collections.Her work appeared on magazine covers, including Collier's and Country Gentleman

From 1970-1984, she served on the faculty of the Paier College of Art in Hamden, Connecticut, where she taught rendering, perspective, creative painting, and egg tempera in the interior design, illustration, and fine art departments. In 1980, she was inducted into the Meriden, Connecticut Hall of Fame. There is one example of Sternberg's work in the Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum's collection: Textile, Snowflakes, 1952-1957.

From: Wikipedia