Gertrude Stein

Gertrude Stein - Novelists, Career and Childhood

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Gertrude Stein's Personal Details

Gertrude Stein was a modern American writer

InformationDetail
BirthdayFebruary 3, 1874
Died onJuly 27, 1946
NationalityAmerican
FamousLesbians, Harvard University, Writers, Poets, Novelists, Novelists
SiblingsBertha, Michael Stein
Universities
  • Harvard University
  • Radcliffe College
  • Johns Hopkins University
  • Harvard University
  • Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Notable Alumnis
  • Harvard University
Birth PlaceAllegheny, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States
ReligionJewish
GenderFemale
FatherDaniel
MotherAmelia Stein
Sun SignAquarius
Born inAllegheny, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States
Famous asAmerican novelist
Died at Age72

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Gertrude Stein's photo

Who is Gertrude Stein?

Gertrude Stein was a writer, poet and an ardent collector of Modernist art. She rejected the conventional style of early nineteenth-century literature and developed an abstract manner of expression that was similar to the work of the Post-Impressionists and Cubists in the visual arts. She spent a large part of her childhood in Europe and was able to develop a taste for the contemporary art and literature. When she moved to France with her brother, she collected a number of valuable pieces of painting which included Cubist works of Picasso and Gris, now regarded as masterpieces. Her residence in France became the destination, every Saturday, of talented writers and painters. When she started writing, her works were rejected by publishers and printers. Her eccentric style of writing poems was regarded as difficult, experimental and inaccessible. She held the view that “artists do not experiment” and most of her works were related to lesbianism, which was hard for the publishers to digest. The women's movement started a new interest in her poetry. Her memoir, ‘The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas’ went on to become a literary bestseller. Since the 1970s, her works have attracted feminists as statements of rebellion against a male-dominated society. Scroll down and learn all about this prolific writer.

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Childhood & Early Life

Gertrude Stein, the youngest of five children, was born in Allegheny, Pennsylvania to Jewish parents, Daniel, a wealthy businessman, and Amelia Stein.

When she was three years old, her family moved to Vienna and Paris and returned to America in 1878. They settled in Oakland, California, where she attended First Hebrew Congregation of Oakland's Sabbath school.

In 1892, after the death of her parents, she went to live with her mother’s sister, Fanny, in Baltimore. Here, she met the Cone sisters, Claribel and Ettaa, connoisseurs of modern French art.

She attended Radcliffe College, from 1893 to 1897 and was a student of psychologist William James under whose supervision Stein and fellow student, Leon Mendez Solomons, performed experiments on normal motor automatism

Encouraged by James, she reluctantly joined Johns Hopkins Medical School, where she became infatuated with Mary Bookstaver who was already in a lesbian relationship. Unhappy and demoralized, she left the course midway.

Career

In 1903, she relocated to Paris with her brother Leo hoping to pursue an art career. Their residence had an adjacent studio where here they accumulated the works of art into a significant collection.

Every Saturday, her residence hosted talents in modern literature and art, like Pablo Picasso, Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Sinclair Lewis, James Joyce, Ezra Pound, Thornton Wilder, Sherwood Anderson and Henri Matisse.

She completed ‘Q.E.D.’ in 1903 but was suppressed by the author until it was published in 1950 as ‘Things as They’. The story is based on the lesbian triangular love that happened at John Hopkins.

In 1904, Stein began ‘Fernhurst’, a fictional account of a scandalous three-person romantic affair involving a dean, Carey Thomas, a faculty member, Mary Gwinn, and a Harvard graduate, Alfred Hodder.

By early 1906, Leo and Gertrude Stein's studio had many paintings by Henri Manguin, Pierre Bonnard, Pablo Picasso, Paul Cezanne, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Honore Daumier, Henri Matisse, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec and Gauguin.

Between 1908 and 1913, she wrote descriptive essays which were word portraits catalogued in Mellow. People like Picasso, Matisse and others who used to attend the Saturday Salon were subjects of the portraits.

In 1909, she published her first book, ‘Three Lives’. It was made up of three independent stories, ‘The Good Anna’, ‘Melanctha’, and ‘The Gentle Lena’, all set in Bridgepoint, a fictional town.

In 1914, Leo relocated to Italy, and the art collection was divided. He departed with 16 Renoirs and most of Matisse, leaving Picasso to his sister. She now turned her focus on Cubism.

In 1914, she published ‘Tender Buttons’ a small book separated into three sections—Food, Objects and Rooms. It is one of the great modern experiments of Cubanism in verse, a collection of confusing gibberish.

‘Everybody's Autobiography’, published in 1937, is a continuation of her own memoirs and a sequel to ‘The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas’. Both were written in a less experimental, more approachable style

In 1938, she wrote ‘Doctor Faustus Lights the Lights’ as a libretto for an opera. When it was premiered at Beaver College, she was hailed as the ‘Bard of Bedlam’.

Major Works

Her novel, ‘The Making of Americans’, traces the genealogy, history, and psychological development of members of two fictional families. Though she had finished writing this book much earlier, it was published only in 1925.

‘The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas’, published in 1933, has seven chapters that cover the first three decades of the last century. Its real subject is Stein herself and not her friend Alice.

Awards& Achievements

She was awarded the 2nd Lambda Literary Award in 1990, in the Editor's Choice category for her erotic poem, ‘Lifting Belly’, which was published the previous year with an introduction by Rebecca Marks.

Personal Life & Legacy

She realized that she was a lesbian while studying medicine at Hopkins. She met her life partner Alice B. Toklas in 1907, on Toklas' first day in Paris, at her brother, Michael’s apartment.

Stein died from stomach cancer in Neuilly-sur-Seine and was interred in Paris in P�re Lachaise Cemetery. Carl Van Vechten her literary executor, helped to publish all her unpublished works after her death.

From Ayn Rand's working notes for her novel ‘The Fountainhead’, it is clear that the character Lois Cook in that book was intended as a caricature of Stein.

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Gertrude Stein's awards

YearNameAward

Other

01990 - Lambda Literary Award for Editor's Choice Award

Gertrude Stein biography timelines

  • // 3rd Feb 1874
    Gertrude Stein, the youngest of five children, was born in Allegheny, Pennsylvania to Jewish parents, Daniel, a wealthy businessman, and Amelia Stein.
  • // 1878
    When she was three years old, her family moved to Vienna and Paris and returned to America in 1878. They settled in Oakland, California, where she attended First Hebrew Congregation of Oakland's Sabbath school.
  • // 1892
    In 1892, after the death of her parents, she went to live with her mother’s sister, Fanny, in Baltimore. Here, she met the Cone sisters, Claribel and Ettaa, connoisseurs of modern French art.
  • // 1893 To 1897
    She attended Radcliffe College, from 1893 to 1897 and was a student of psychologist William James under whose supervision Stein and fellow student, Leon Mendez Solomons, performed experiments on normal motor automatism
  • // 1903
    In 1903, she relocated to Paris with her brother Leo hoping to pursue an art career. Their residence had an adjacent studio where here they accumulated the works of art into a significant collection.
  • // 1904
    In 1904, Stein began ‘Fernhurst’, a fictional account of a scandalous three-person romantic affair involving a dean, Carey Thomas, a faculty member, Mary Gwinn, and a Harvard graduate, Alfred Hodder.
  • // 1906
    By early 1906, Leo and Gertrude Stein's studio had many paintings by Henri Manguin, Pierre Bonnard, Pablo Picasso, Paul Cezanne, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Honore Daumier, Henri Matisse, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec and Gauguin.
  • // 1907
    She realized that she was a lesbian while studying medicine at Hopkins. She met her life partner Alice B. Toklas in 1907, on Toklas' first day in Paris, at her brother, Michael’s apartment.
  • // 1908 To 1913
    Between 1908 and 1913, she wrote descriptive essays which were word portraits catalogued in Mellow. People like Picasso, Matisse and others who used to attend the Saturday Salon were subjects of the portraits.
  • // 1909
    In 1909, she published her first book, ‘Three Lives’. It was made up of three independent stories, ‘The Good Anna’, ‘Melanctha’, and ‘The Gentle Lena’, all set in Bridgepoint, a fictional town.
  • // 1914
    In 1914, Leo relocated to Italy, and the art collection was divided. He departed with 16 Renoirs and most of Matisse, leaving Picasso to his sister. She now turned her focus on Cubism.
  • // 1914
    In 1914, she published ‘Tender Buttons’ a small book separated into three sections—Food, Objects and Rooms. It is one of the great modern experiments of Cubanism in verse, a collection of confusing gibberish.
  • // 1925
    Her novel, ‘The Making of Americans’, traces the genealogy, history, and psychological development of members of two fictional families. Though she had finished writing this book much earlier, it was published only in 1925.
  • // 1933
    ‘The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas’, published in 1933, has seven chapters that cover the first three decades of the last century. Its real subject is Stein herself and not her friend Alice.
  • // 1937
    ‘Everybody's Autobiography’, published in 1937, is a continuation of her own memoirs and a sequel to ‘The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas’. Both were written in a less experimental, more approachable style
  • // 1938
    In 1938, she wrote ‘Doctor Faustus Lights the Lights’ as a libretto for an opera. When it was premiered at Beaver College, she was hailed as the ‘Bard of Bedlam’.
  • // 27th Jul 1946
    Stein died from stomach cancer in Neuilly-sur-Seine and was interred in Paris in P�re Lachaise Cemetery. Carl Van Vechten her literary executor, helped to publish all her unpublished works after her death.
  • // 1990
    She was awarded the 2nd Lambda Literary Award in 1990, in the Editor's Choice category for her erotic poem, ‘Lifting Belly’, which was published the previous year with an introduction by Rebecca Marks.

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Gertrude Stein's FAQ

  • What is Gertrude Stein birthday?

    Gertrude Stein was born at 1874-02-03

  • When was Gertrude Stein died?

    Gertrude Stein was died at 1946-07-27

  • Where was Gertrude Stein died?

    Gertrude Stein was died in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France

  • Which age was Gertrude Stein died?

    Gertrude Stein was died at age 72

  • Where is Gertrude Stein's birth place?

    Gertrude Stein was born in Allegheny, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States

  • What is Gertrude Stein nationalities?

    Gertrude Stein's nationalities is American

  • Who is Gertrude Stein siblings?

    Gertrude Stein's siblings is Bertha, Michael Stein

  • What was Gertrude Stein universities?

    Gertrude Stein studied at Harvard University, Radcliffe College, Johns Hopkins University, Harvard University, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

  • What was Gertrude Stein notable alumnis?

    Gertrude Stein's notable alumnis is Harvard University

  • What is Gertrude Stein's religion?

    Gertrude Stein's religion is Jewish

  • Who is Gertrude Stein's father?

    Gertrude Stein's father is Daniel

  • Who is Gertrude Stein's mother?

    Gertrude Stein's mother is Amelia Stein

  • What is Gertrude Stein's sun sign?

    Gertrude Stein is Aquarius

  • How famous is Gertrude Stein?

    Gertrude Stein is famouse as American novelist