Bea Mandelman began her art instruction at the age of twelve by attending evening classes at the Newark School of Fine Arts. She continued her art instruction after college at the Art Student's League in New York, studying under lithographer George Pickens. In addition, she studied painting in France with Fernand Leger. She was involved with the WPA Federal Arts Project in New York first as a mural assistant and then in graphic arts. It was at this point that she developed her fine art approach to silkscreen with five other artists. These artists coined the term ‘serigraph' and founded the Serigraph Society. Her work has been exhibited at the Art Institute of Chicago, The Museum of Modern Art and the National Gallery. She relocated to New Mexico in 1944 and continued her abstract painting work. In 1959 she became a teacher at the Taos Valley Art School.