Born in Hartford, Connecticut in 1946, Borstein's fascination with architecture began during her college days, when she spent many hours photographing Victorian houses in Saratoga Springs, New York. Later in her post-graduate years at the University of Pennsylvania, it was architect, Louis Kahn who gave her further inspiration with his poetic musings on architecture. These experiences combined with her love of travel led her to see herself as an
“architectural flaneuse” whose subject matter would be found in the vernacular dwellings of the Mediterranean, the crumbling facades of Cuba, and later in the sculptural forms of wind-filled sails.

David L.Shirey of The New York Times described her Greek series as follows:
“What makes these paintings so interesting is their concern with the esthetics of Greek structures. More than architectural celebrations as such, these buildings are artistic investigations of light and form and the animated interaction of the two.”

She received her B.S. degree from Skidmore College and her M.F.A. from the University of Pennsylvania. She is Professor Emerita from York College, City University of New York. Borstein’s work is included in numerous major collections including: The Museum of Modern Art, NY; Hayden Museum, MIT, Cambridge, MA; Neuberger Museum, Purchase, NY; Everson Museum, Syracuse, NY; Newark Museum, Newark, NJ.

Her work has also been in many solo and group exhibitions both in this country and abroad including: “American Realism” at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; Three exhibits at the Bronx Museum; and “New Acquisitions” at the Everson Museum, The Herbert F. Johnson Museum, The Museum of Modern Art and the McNay Art Institute in San Antonio, Texas. She was part of the Washington D.C. Corcoran Gallery’s traveling exhibition called ”The Liberation-14 American Artists” which traveled to 11 countries. Borstein is the recipient of a Purchase Prize from the American Academy of Arts & Letters.