William Meyerowitz was born in Russia and along with his father, immigrated to this country in 1908; the rest of the family followed shortly thereafter. By the time he arrived in New York, young Meyerowitz was already involved in the two activities which would be at the center of this life for the next 70 years: music and art.

Between 1912 and 1916, William Meyerowitz studied at the National Academy of Design, focusing on the art of etching. During this time, he supported himself by singing in the Metropolitan Opera and by doing architectural drawings. After completing his studies, Meyerowitz, working with fellow artists George Bellows and Robert Henri, helped organize the People's Art Guild. The organization was intended to help introduce art to the common man by providing alternative exhibition spaces including areas set aside in East Side tenement houses. It was through this work that Meyerowitz met artist Theresa Bernstein. The two were married in 1919 and spent the next 60 years working side by side in New York City and here on Cape Ann, first in Folly Cove and then on Mt. Pleasant Avenue in East Gloucester.

Gloucester Humoresque, painted in 1923, commemorated the creation of the North Shore Arts Association and the Gloucester Society of Artists. The two organizations were organized in 1922 and (along with the Rockport Art Association which was founded the year before) quickly became the center of artistic activity on Cape Ann. Shortly after their founding, the North Shore and the GSA found themselves at the center of a lively debate as the local art world wrestled with the idea of juried versus non-juried art exhibitions. 

On one side of the discussion was the North Shore Arts Association which grew out of the earlier Gallery-on-the-Moors and whose policies, from the start, included the presentation of juried shows. Taking the opposing stance, the Gloucester Society of Artists (whose headquarters was about a half a mile further along Eastern Point Road) shunned juries and proudly proclaimed themselves:  "Open to all and an Equal Chance for all." 

	Crow Village Artist: William Meyerowitz Date of Work: 1922 Medium: Oil on linen Accession Number: 2010.29.1 Credit Line: Gift of Walter Manninen in memory of his parents, George Manninen and Jean Sheaves Manninen, 2010 Collections: Land and Seascapes   Throughout their long careers, Meyerowitz and his wife Theresa Bernstein painted and etched a wide range of subjects. Many of their works, including this oil on canvas, focus on the common everyday scenes encountered in and around Gloucester's working waterfront.
	Girlhood Artist: William Meyerowitz Date of Work: 1921 Medium: Oil on canvas Accession Number: 2020.13.8 Credit Line: Gift of Edith Stein, 2020 Collections: Faces of Cape Ann: Portraits
	Gloucester Humoresque Artist: William Meyerowitz Date of Work: 1923 Medium: Oil on canvas Accession Number: 2510.04 Credit Line: Gift of James F. O’Gorman and Jean Baer O’Gorman, 1985 Collections: Land and Seascapes   All the talk of portraiture reminds Meyerowitz of a large and to his mind 'whimsical' painting that he did years ago in Gloucester.  It's of the local art scene ... Over here on the right," he says, explaining the piece, "I have the North Shore Arts Association, with its jury system. The rejected painters are hurrying toward Rocky Neck and the gallery of the Gloucester Society of Artists. It didn't have a jury." Meyerowitz belonged to both organizations and so took an objective view of their activities. He notes, however, that his sympathies were and are with nonjuried shows.... —Charles Movalli, "A Conversation with William Meyerowitz and Theresa Bernstein," American Artist, January 1980
	Still Life with Apple Artist: William Meyerowitz Date of Work: Undated Medium: Oil on canvas Accession Number: 2020.13.9 Credit Line: Gift of Edith Stein, 2020 Collections: Uncategorized

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