Gertrude Stein and the Birth of Modernism: A Stein Family Saga

In the early twentieth century, Gertrude Stein emerged as a pivotal force in modernism—a legendary salon host, avant-garde writer, and art collector whose Paris circle shaped the trajectory of twentieth-century culture. Presented by Nicholas Stein, first cousin twice removed to Gertrude Stein, this course draws on rare archival materials and family heirlooms, including 16mm home movie footage from 1927, family photographs, historical correspondence preserved in Yale University’s Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library, and unseen ancestral documents. We trace Gertrude’s journey from Pittsburgh to Oakland to Baltimore to Paris, detailing her complex alliances with Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, Ernest Hemingway, and F. Scott Fitzgerald, as well as her lifelong partnership with Alice B. Toklas. Through the turbulent wartime years and her triumphant return to America, we explore how her work shaped twentieth-century art and letters as witnessed by family who knew her. Finally, we consider her enduring influence—a legacy illuminating innovation, identity, and artistic courage.