The Cooper Union Library: Alice Kringstein Collection: Home

Alice Kringstein (née Katz, 1932-2022) attained her BA at The Cooper Union in 1953. Her first foray into professional design was under Paul Rand at Weintraub Advertising agency. From there she went on to offer art direction at Seventeen Magazine, Glamour Magazine, and House and Garden. Ultimately she ended up as Creative Director and Vice President at William Douglas McAdams Advertising Agency, where she oversaw apex accounts for Upjohn and Hoffman LaRoche, among others. She often enjoyed relating that, at one point in her design career, Andy Warhol was a junior production designer working directly for her. Mr. Warhol was apparently fond enough of Alice to seek her advice in editing his fine art portfolio when he sought exposure at galleries, but apparently ignored all advice given ("for the better," in her own words).

As a fine artist, Alice began her journey painting intimate portraits in oil of her closest friends, gifting them the work upon completion. In her later years she focused on collage, using familiar paper images torn from magazines, deconstructing them into elemental shapes, textures and fields of color to evoke new forms of depth and movement with her compositions. While she never focused on the "business of art" or sought public attention for her work beyond her closest companions, Alice's work was shown at Islip Art Museum, The Arthur H. Houston Gallery at Cooper Union, and The National Arts Club in Manhattan.

In January of 2024, Alice's son Andrew Kringstein donated Alice's book collection to The Cooper Union Library. The titles are wide-ranging — from the canonical to the whimsical — and we could not be more delighted to have them. As you browse the stacks, keep an eye out for the handsome bookplate, designed by Andrew, that graces the verso page of each book.