Susan Unterberg

Susan Unterberg (born 1941) is an American contemporary photographer and philanthropist. Her work often focuses on themes of familial relationships and nature, and it is included in several permanent collections of major museums across the United States. In 2018, she stepped forward as the founder and funder of the Anonymous Was A Woman Award.

Life Unterberg was born in 1941 in New York City, New York, USA. She graduated from Sarah Lawrence College with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in 1977 and received a Master of Arts from New York University in 1985.

Once a guest artist at the artist colony Yaddo, Unterberg was named as its co-chairwoman with A. M. Homes in 2013. She credited Yaddo as a place where she had worked and grown as an artist.

As of 2018, Unterberg lives in New York City. Her earlier work includes emotional portraits of familial relationships that explore the psychological bonds and connections between family members, while her later work consists of more abstract landscapes and portraits of animals which emphasize light, color, and metaphor. and Fathers and Sons, which photographically explore family relationships.

As of 2018, Unterberg's projects involve layering photographic work in Adobe Photoshop, which she describes as "self-portraits that deal with the [current American] political situation." the International Center of Photography, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Jewish Museum, New York and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

Collections Unterberg's work is included in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art, New York, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Jewish Museum, New York, and the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art.

Philanthropy Unterberg and her sister inherited a significant amount of money from their father Nathan Appleman, a businessman in the oil industry, upon his death in 1992. wonti the award, with grants totally more than $6.5 million dollars. This award is "an unrestricted grant of $25,000 awarded each year to ten women artists" who have reached a critical point in their careers. Beginning in 2022, Anonymous Was A Woman additionally disburses an environmental arts grant.

Before 2018, she had remained anonymous so that her artwork would be evaluated in its own context, without being influenced by her contributions. , featuring works by some of the recipients from 1996-2020. A related publication, Anonymous Was A Woman: The First 25 Years, featuing works by all the recipients from 1996-2020, was published on January 1, 2025, by the Grey Art Museum and Hirmer Verlag. Anonymous Was A Woman also published and commissioned an Artist Survey during the time of the exhibition, to look at women artists' lives and careers and the factors contributing to their success and challenges. It culminated in "The Artists Speak Report."