Though Sterne began to disengage socially from the art world and lead an increasingly private life in the 1960s, she continued to be involved in many exhibitions with Betty Parsons Gallery, CDS Gallery, and others. In 1977, her first retrospective exhibition was held at the Montclair Art Museum. In 1985, her second retrospective, "Hedda Sterne: Forty Years" was held at the Queens Museum. In November 1992, she met the art dealer Philippe Briet, and began a sustainable friendship which led to several projects until his death in February 1997. In October 1994, Briet introduced writer Michel Butor to Hedda Sterne, which began their collaboration on a book published in September 1995, "La Révolution dans l'Arboretum." In 2006, her third retrospective exhibition, "Uninterrupted Flux: Hedda Sterne; A Retrospective" was held at the Krannert Art Museum.