Barbara Winkelstein was a prolific and lauded professional portrait painter, known for capturing the essence of her subjects with warmth and insight. Her work has been shown at various galleries in San Francisco, CA, and graces the homes of her many clients worldwide.

This site focuses on work from her later years, when she shared a Pier 70 studio with a close group of women artists who gathered there to paint portraits of live models using acrylic, charcoal, pencil, oil stick and watercolor. 

She also painted watercolors and oils of the California landscapes she loved, including Stinson Beach, Tennessee Valley, and Echo Lake. 

Born in Coalinga, California, she lived in Venezuela and Colorado before earning her BA at the University of Oregon, in 1950. She moved to San Francisco in 1956, where she met and married architect Peter Winkelstein. She died in November 2011.