Paula Stern models in clay and wax and casts in bronze and resin. She works in Washington, DC and Becket, MA. 

Paula Stern’s busts, groupings and figures echo her deep appreciation of structure and movement. Inspired by the beauty and complexity of human physiognomy, anatomy and relationships, she creates portraits of adults and children, often showing them in a sequence to chronicle human lives and family groups like chapters of a biography.

Stern’s compositions and assemblages  extend beyond pleasing the eye. Her work is animated through complex historical nuances and seeks to stimulate the mind, often with titles hinting at moods or emotions.

Stern has been commissioned to sculpt  portrait busts of prominent citizens in government, business, law, and philanthropy. Her work is in homes and gardens in Washington, D.C. and elsewhere in the U.S. and overseas. Her bronze bust of Nelson Mandela, commissioned by Pinewood Preparatory School in Summerville, SC is installed on campus at the school.

Stern’s works were prominently displayed in the U.S. Embassy and Residence in Nicosia, Cyprus as part of the U.S. State Department’s Art in the Embassies Program. Her artwork has been showcased in cultural centers including Othello and Desdemona in the lobby of the Shakespeare & Co Company Theater in Lenox, MA and  Let’s Dance at the National Historic Site and Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival facility in Becket, Ma. 

Stern was given the “People’s Choice Award” by the Washington Project for the Arts/ Corcoran (WPAC) for her bronze Attitude (Female), which also captured first prize at the juried All Media Art League Membership Show at The Torpedo Factory in Old Town Alexandria, VA. She is a permanent exhibiting artist of Gallery 75 of The Art League.

Stern’s sculptures have been juried into shows in a wide range of venues.  The Berkshire Museum featured Fanfare for the Working Man for its biennial 2020/21 show “Art of the Hills” and selected three of her works for its 2018 show. Quartet was featured in the Hillyer Art Space, Washington, DC  show “Flesh & Bone”. Sunday Morning was showcased at the 6th National Juried Competition at Gallery West in Alexandria, VA, where it was chosen from over 500 entries. Her bronze Paul received an award in the Washington Square Building Sculpture Show which included two of her other bronzes.  The next year, four other artworks were chosen for exhibition at the same venue.  

Her solo shows include “Body Language” at Waverly Street Gallery in Bethesda, Maryland and “Let’s Face It” at Tysons Corporate Center in Northern Virginia. 

In the media, Stern has been profiled on WUSA9-TV and NBC4, and featured in The Washington Post, Washington Business Journal, Washington Woman Magazine.

Stern is the 2025 Fellow for the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities in recognition of her contribution to the cultural capital of Washington, DC.

Her work can be found at The Portland Art Gallery in Maine, St. Francis Gallery, Lee-Stockbridge, Massachusetts, the Zenith Gallery in Greater Washington, DC, and Gallery 75 in Arlington, Virginia.

The busts featured above are Stern’s children Genevieve and Gabriel.