Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Harriet Zeitlin received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Painting at the University of Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts; studied "Traditions of Painting" at the Barnes Foundation. She continued her academic work with a focus on Printmaking,University of California, Los Angeles; Photography, Santa Monica College, California.

Over the past Thirty-five years Harriet Zeitlin has exhibited nationally and internationally. Selected California galleries and museums include Orlando Gallery, Toby Moss Gallery, Molly Barnes Gallery, Sherry Frumkin Gallery and Track 16 Gallery (Bergamot Station); Santa Barbara Museum of Art, Monterey Museum of Art, Laguna Museum of Art, Downey Museum of Art, Craft and Folk Art Museum, Skirball Museum, Santa Monica Museum of Art, Newport Harbor Museum of Art; Los Angeles County Museum of Art. National exhibits include Weyhe Gallery, New York, Wayne Street Gallery, Ohio, Suzanne Gross Gallery, Pennsylvania, Bernice Steinbaum Gallery, NYC; Museum of American Art, Pennsylvania. International exhibits include USIS Bicentennial Traveling Exhibit, India (New Delhi, Bombay, Madras and Calcutta); ARELIS Fiber Exhibit (Biblioteque Forney) Paris and Compiegne, France; Salon d’Automne, Paris, France (2008).

Harriet Zeitlin's artwork, spanning over three decades, deeply conveys her "...humanist concerns, technical expertise and sensitivity toward materials" (Ruth Askey, Art Critic). Shirle Gottlieb, speaks of Zeitlin’s forms as "...remarkable" (Press Telegram, Long Beach). Philosophically, artistically and reverently she moves between oil and acrylic painting, mixed media, traditional printmaking, sculptured fabric, collage and found objects, natural and manmade, to visually depict her personal, social, political and universal concerns.

Zeitlin’s visual voice communicates her ideas in a witty, decorative, realistic, archetypal and symbolic manner through two-dimensional and three-dimensional works; and forms-in-relief. "I have made use of my collected memories and have recaptured, recomposed and reorganized these experiences into my own art...the role of the artist in society is a noble one and one in which I feel privileged to participate" (Harriet Zeitlin 2008).

Harriet Zeitlin speaks of the importance of her world travels and personal life experiences that have inspired and influenced her direction as an artist. Her mixed media artwork specifically shows a strong East Indian influence and is imbued with spontaneous energy and a look at the past. If one looks carefully, the subtle threads of Zeitlin’s Eastern experiences may be mysteriously discovered, woven into the tapestry of each of her works.

The artwork of Harriet Zeitlin is found in significant public art collections, nationally and internationally. These collections include the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, California; Library of Congress, Washington D.C.; Fluor Corporation, California; Cedars Sinai Medical Center, California; University of Judaism, California; United States Embassy, New Delhi, India. Among her numerous honors she was invited to participate in the Arts in Embassies Program in Hong Kong; and Namibia, Africa.

Harriet Zietlin and her work has been covered in television, radio; magazines and newspapers. Reviews on her work have been written by William Wilson, L.A. Times Art Review; Robert L. Pincus; Les Krantz, California Arts Review; and Neal Menzies, Art Week Review. Articles on Harriet Zeitlin may be found in Designers West Magazine, Who’s Who in American Art; American Women Artists, Volume II. Molly Barnes radio interview with Harriet Zeitlin was held 1/7/08.

Recognized as an innovative teacher, Harriet Zeitlin has taught children and young high school adults across the Los Angeles basin. She has also restored, revised and published her late husband’s, David Zeitlin’s, book, "Shooting Stars, Favorite Photos Taken by Classic Celebrities," to fulfill his final dream.