Lucia Stern 
American, 1895-1987 
Dual Personality, ca. 1945 
Mixed media 
29 1/2 x 21 1/2 in 
90.10.2 
Gift of Mrs. Grace Vogel Aldworth

Lucia Stern was born Martha Ida Lucia Karker in 1895, in Milwaukee, WI. She studied music, literature, and art at Marquette University, the Milwaukee Conservatory, the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee, and Columbia University in New York. Stern began to pursue an artistic career in 1935, after being inspired by modernist and non-objective artists. Stern was a leading figure in non-objective art in the United States, working in drawing, painting, decoupage, and mixed media which included stitch work. Stern was a consummate Milwaukee philanthropist and also served on the board of the Milwaukee Art Center, now known as the Milwaukee Art Museum, where she became a trustee in 1967. She also served as a docent and lecturer there from 1942 through the mid-1980s. Additionally, she was a member of Marquette University’s Women’s Council, which was a driving force behind the creation of the Haggerty Museum of Art. 

Dual Personality reflects Stern’s interests in minimalism, abstraction, and experimentation with materials. It features three comingled shapes: an outline of a human figure drawn directly onto the paper, a grey form cut from a mesh-like material, and a red circle cut from a similar mesh. The piece seems to suggest a narrative concerning either harmony or dissonance between the body, mind, and soul. 

Parasocial Relationships 

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