Aline Bernstein

10 Pages 2508 Words

Aline Bernstein was the first woman to achieve professional recognition in the American theatre. She was an artist of many talents. She was a skilled writer and designer. Her devotion and dedication to the theatrical world was uncanny. Aline Bernstein received national acclaim for her design concepts. Her dedication altered the theatrical world by adding newfound elements to it.
Aline Bernstein was born in New York City on December 22,1980. She was born the elder daughter of Rebecca and Joseph Frankau. Joseph Frankau was an actor of German-Jewish ancestry. Frankau was originally a poet. However, the language of theatre fascinated him. Frankau’s mentor, Harlan, an older man in the literary group he was a part of, convinced Frankau that his true talent was in acting. This was the turning point for Frankau, when he decided to become an actor. Aline traveled the acting circuit with her parents during her childhood.
Aline Bernstein’s parents had both died by the time she had reached the age of seventeen. Her aunt, Rachel Goldsmith, helped her cope during these painstaking times and became her guardian. She lived with her aunt who had a theatrical boarding house on West 44th Street in New York City. Bernstein was a talented artist and Tom Watson, a close friend of the family, arranged for her to receive a scholarship at the New York School of Applied Design. It was here where she met and studied with Robert Henri. Aline was able to pool together money from various jobs as well as contributions from relatives in order to study under Henri. This is how Aline met Emma Goldstein who was a known rebel of imposed value systems.
Theodore Bernstein, Aline’s future husband, emigrated from Germany in the mid1890’s. He was seven years older than Aline. He came to this country as a clerk and later moved on to be a Wall Street broker. Aline and Theodore were married on November 2nd of 1902.They had two children during their marriage; the fir...