Bernard Schardt, the youngest child of Peter G. and Katherine (Katie) Schardt, was born on October 20, 1904 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
In the 1910 census, he was living with his parents, siblings, and grandfather George Schardt, in Milwaukee. In the 1920 census, he was living with his family in upstate Wisconsin in Russell, about 80 miles north of Milwaukee.
By the 1930 census, now 26, Bernard identified himself as a self-employed artist and was residing in West Greenwich Village in Manhattan with three other young men. During the 1930s, he worked as a graphic artist for the federal Works Progress Administration program. Drawings from this period are occasionally sold at art auctions.
From the Annex Galleries bio:
He was a graphic artist who resided in New York City during his career as an artist. Schardt worked for the Works Progress Administration from 1939-1943 in New York. =While Schardt worked for WPA his drawings and prints portrayed the working class during the Depression. He exhibited at the Art Institute of Chicago in 1937 and 1938.
By the 1940 census, Bernard had married Nene Vibber (1906-1997), a puppeteer and actress who was in the original cast of “The Time of Your Life” by William Saroyan. The two lived in Manhattan.
During the early 1940s, Bernard was friends with the painter Jackson Pollock, although Pollock’s wife didn’t approve of the friendship.
In 1960, Bernard and Nene Schardt were still living in Manhattan. They later moved to North Truro, Massachusetts, where he died at age 74 on June 23, 1979 and she died at age 91 on October 15, 1997. There is no record of any children.
From the Smithsonian American Art Museum:
Dear Margaret (Mary Burba Anderson),
As you note in your question, the Smithsonian American Art Museum has in its collection four works by Bernard Schardt (1904-1979).
The entry for Bernard Schardt in WHO WAS WHO IN AMERICAN ART 1564-1975 by Peter Hastings Falk (Madison, CT: Sound View Press, 1999) describes him as a “graphic artist.” He was active in the WPA during the depression.
According to WPA ARTWORK IN NON-FEDERAL DEPOSITORIES, Second edition (Washington, D.C.: U.S. General Services Administration, 1999), the following institutions also have WPA-related prints by Schardt:
Allen R. Hite Art Institute, University of Louisville
Baltimore Museum of Art
Detroit Institute of Arts
Jack S. Blanton Museum of Art, University of Texas at Austin
University of Kentucky Art Museum
Newark Museum
Philadelphia Museum of Art
Portland Art Museum
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
The University of Michigan Museum of Art
Weisman Art Museum, University of Minnesota
Museum of Art, University of Oregon
Wexner Center for the Arts, Ohio State University
I also found three mentions of Bernard Schardt in THE NEW YORK TIMES. In the issues for April 23, 1939, March 24, 1940 and November 26, 1940, his name is among lists of other artists working in the graphic arts area. No issue specifically mentions any works by him.
Both Bernie Schardt and his wife, Nene Vidder Schardt, are featured in JACKSON POLLOCK, AN AMERICAN SAGA by Steven Naifeh and Gregory White Smith (New York: Clarkson Potter, 1989). [twenty-eight mentions in the index] Since the book is available in most public libraries, I won’t provide you with lengthy excerpts.
Before he was married, Bernard Schardt shared a Bucks County, PA farmhouse with Pollock and two other artists. After Bernard and Nene were married, they shared an apartment on Eighth Avenue in New York City with Pollock for a short time.
I was unable to find out any information about the artistic career of Nene Vidder Schardt.
I hope this information is helpful.
Sincerely,
Thomas Foster
Smithsonian American Art Museum
