Albert Sterner achieved international renown as an illustrator, lithographer, and painter.

Born in London to an American father and an English mother, he demonstrated an aptitude for drawing as a boy, later winning a scholarship to study at the Birmingham Art Institute. He lived in Germany during 1878-79 and then settled in Chicago, where he worked in various jobs in the field of illustration.

He went to Paris in 1886, refining his skills in depicting the figure at the Academic Julian and the Ecole des Beaux-Arts. In the ensuing years, he became a first-rate illustrator in New York, contributing his drawings to Century, Scribner's, Harper's and other leading periodicals and illustrating a number of books. Sterner made an extended trip to Europe during 1895-98, during which time he was active in Germany, France, and elsewhere. He settled in Nutley, New Jersey, in 1898, devoting his time to portrait drawings and book illustration. He also worked in oil and watercolor and produced a number of monotypes.

Sterner moved to Newport, Rhode Island, in 1907, remaining there until about 1915, when he settled permanently in New York City. Praised for his sensitive and versatile draftsmanship, he enjoyed a tremendously successful career, exhibiting his graphic work and paintings in major exhibitions throughout the United States, Canada, and Europe.

Biography courtesy of Roughton Galleries, www.antiquesandfineart.com/roughton