Anyone who wanted to delve into the art world of Paris in
the 1920’s would have visited Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas’ apartment on
27 Rue de Fleurus in Paris. Man Ray’s 1922 black and white photo of them
comfortably seated in front of the fireplace gives you a glimpse into that
world. The photo is wonderful but
does not do the scene justice. Can
you imagine the riot of colors all around them? Paintings were hung to the
rafters with works by now famous names such as Henri Matisse, Juan Gris, Pablo
Picasso, Paul Cezanne, Pierre-August Renoir and others.
First the artists came and then the writers followed with
more jaw dropping names such as Ernest Hemingway, Ezra Pound, Thornton Wilder
and Sherwood Anderson. Gertrude became known for two things – her collection of
modern art and her collection of friends, both collected before the art or the
friend was famous. To say she had
an eye for talent is perhaps a bit of an understatement. It was one of those golden moments in
time for the cultural world, as the birth of Modernism unfolded around the
Stein’s.
It really began when Gertrude joined her brother Leo in
Paris is 1904. Leo was on his way
to amassing a modest art collection and Gertrude caught the collector’s bug. They were unlikely patrons who weren’t
rich, living off of a modest income from a family trust. The art dealer, Ambroise Vollard, once
said that the Steins bought paintings “not because they were rich, but despite
the fact that they weren’t.” Gertrude would lecture the stylish wives of her
artistic visitors to save on clothing by dressing practically and use the money
to buy art. Gertrude looked and dressed like a sack of potatoes but we are
still fascinated by her today.
The Steins were extraordinary in that they trusted their
instinct even when the critics of the time were loudly opposed to the new art
form, and they befriended and encouraged young talent by being patrons of the
art world even without financial means.
The Steins Collect started at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art,
is now at the Grand Palais in Paris until January, and then will travel to the
Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC from February 12 until March 12th. You don’t want to miss this show.
