Picnic

Artist Henrietta Berk (1919 - 1990)

Datec.1962-64

MediumOil on canvas

Dimensions45 x 55 in. (114.3 x 139.7 cm)

ClassificationsPainting

Credit LineThe Hilbert Collection

Object numberBer-6

DescriptionKansas-born Henrietta Berk (1919-1990) attended the California College of Art in Oakland, where she studied with Richard Diebenkorn and Henry Krell. Berk became well-known for her use of muscular, textured swathes of color and modernist, expressionistic brushwork, and was a respected figure in the Bay Area Figurative movement.

Her subject matter ranged from floral still lifes to sweeping, colorful landscapes, and her work was exhibited in major galleries in the U.S. and abroad, as well as in the Oakland Art Museum, San Francisco Museum of Art, De Young Museum and several others. Berk’s work was also collected by many celebrities, including Julie Andrews, Kim Novak and Edward G. Robinson. One of her paintings (which now hangs in the U.S. Embassy in Peru) appeared in the 1967 hit movie "Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner."

In her later years, Berk suffered from encroaching blindness due to diabetes, and this once-acclaimed artist fell into semi-obscurity after her death in 1990.

Some have speculated that this painting may depict a youthful Jackie and John F. Kennedy enjoying a picnic. Certainly the timeframe (early 1960s) is right, although no documentary evidence has been found to prove that was Berk’s intention. What do you think?

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