Bernece Berkman-Hunter (1911-1988) a political activist and social realist artist, combined the techniques of Cubism and Expressionism, creating vivid colors, broad lines, and angular forms to capture the struggles of life faced by laborers and immigrants.

Bernece Berkman-Hunter was born to an American mother and Russian immigrant father. Starting in 1927, Berkman-Hunter briefly studied at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago before running out of money. She continued her studies in the studio of Todros Geller (1889-1949), under whose guidance her Jewish and activist identities became more intertwined and apparent in her art. Berkman-Hunter exhibited publicly for the first time in 1934. She often exhibited with radical and Jewish artist groups in Chicago and was one of fourteen artists chosen to contribute a print to the Biro-Bidjan Portfolio (c. 1937-1938). In 1939, Berkman -Hunter’s art was included in the American art exhibition at the New York World's Fair. During the 1940’s Berkman-Hunter studied with Stuart Davis (1892-1964) at The New School for Social Research in New York City. In 1945, Berkman-Hunter moved to New York City, where in 1946 she married Oscar Hunter, a black writer. They lived and worked in New York, running a successful wallpaper company together, Berk-Hunter Associates, until 1970, divorcing in 1976. Berkman-Hunter died penniless as a squatter in a studio in NYC. Today her artwork can be found in the collections of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY, Museum of Modern Art, NY, Whitney Museum of American Art, NY, The Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, D.C., National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C., The Art Institute of Chicago, IL, Seattle Museum of Art, WA, Baltimore Museum of Art, MD, Illinois State Museum, IL Krannart Art Museum, IL, Koehnline Art Museum, IL and several private collections.