Gertrude Stein (February 3, 1874 – July 27, 1946) was a noted American art collector of seminal modernist paintings and an experimental writer of novels, poetry and plays, which eschewed the narrative, linear, and temporal conventions of 19th century literature. She moved to Paris in 1903, making France her home for the remainder of her life. For some forty years, the Stein home on the Left Bank of Paris would become a renowned Saturday evening gathering place for expatriate American artists and writers, and others noteworthy in the world of vanguard arts and letters. Entrée and membership in the Stein salon was a sought-after validation, signifying that Stein had recognized a talent worthy of inclusion into a rarefied group of gifted artists. Stein became combination mentor, critic, and guru to those who gathered around her. A self-defined "genius", she was described as an imposing figure with a commanding manner whose inordinate self-confidence could intimidate. Among her coterie she was referred to as “Le Stein” and with less laudatory deference as “The Presence.”
In 1933, Stein published the memoirs of her Paris years titled The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas, which became a literary bestseller. The advent of this book elevated Stein from the relative obscurity of cult literary figure, into the light of mainstream attention.
Near the end of her life Stein pronounced: "I always wanted to be historical from almost a baby on, I felt that way about it..."
Read more about Gertrude Stein: Early Life, Art Collection, 27 Rue De Fleurus: The Stein Salon, Literary Style, Literary Career, Alice B.Toklas, Political Views, Stein During World War II, Death, Critical Reception of Stein As Writer, Legacy and Commemoration, Published Works, Related Exhibits
Famous quotes by gertrude stein:
“In the United States there is more space where nobody is is than where anybody is.”
—Gertrude Stein (1874–1946)
“It does change the age that is young, once in Paris it was twenty-six, then it was twenty-two, then it was nineteen and now it is between thirty and forty. They tell about a new young man, how old is he you say and they say he is thirty.”
—Gertrude Stein (1874–1946)
“War is never fatal but always lost. Always lost.”
—Gertrude Stein (1874–1946)
“It is natural not to care about a sister certainly not when she is four years older and grinds her teeth at night.”
—Gertrude Stein (1874–1946)
“We talked about and that has always been a puzzle to me
why American men think that success is everything
when they know that eighty percent of them are not
going to succeed more than to just keep going and why
if they are not why do they not keep on being
interested in the things that interested them when
they were college men and why American men different
from English men do not get more interesting as they
get older.”
—Gertrude Stein (1874–1946)