An Evening at Gertrude's

Overview

© The Editors of Britannica 2025
Gertrude Stein (born Feb. 3, 1874, Allegheny City [now in Pittsburgh], Pa., U.S.—died July 27, 1946, Neuilly-sur-Seine, France) was an avant-garde American writer, eccentric, and self-styled genius whose Paris home was a salon for the leading artists and writers of the period between World Wars I and II. Stein spent her infancy in Vienna and in Passy, France, and her girlhood in Oakland, Calif. She entered the Society for the Collegiate Instruction of Women (renamed Radcliffe College in 1894), where she studied psychology with the philosopher William James and received her degree in 1898. She studied at Johns Hopkins Medical School from 1897 to 1902 and then, with her older brother Leo, moved first to London and then to Paris, where she was able to live by private means. She lived with Leo, who became an accomplished art critic, until 1909; thereafter she lived with her lifelong companion, Alice B. Toklas (1877–1967). Stein and her brother were among the first collectors of works by the Cubists and other experimental painters of the period, such as Pablo Picasso (who painted her portrait), Henri Matisse, and Georges Braque, several of whom became her friends. At her salon they mingled with expatriate American writers whom she dubbed the “Lost Generation,” including Sherwood Anderson and Ernest Hemingway, and other visitors drawn by her literary reputation. Her literary and artistic judgments were revered, and her chance remarks could make or destroy reputations. In her own work, she attempted to parallel the theories of Cubism, specifically in her concentration on the illumination of the present moment (for which she often relied on the present perfect tense) and her use of slightly varied repetitions and extreme simplification and fragmentation. The best explanation of her theory of writing is found in the essay Composition as Explanation, which is based on lectures that she gave at the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge and was issued as a book in 1926. Among her works that were most thoroughly influenced by Cubism is Tender Buttons (1914), which carries fragmentation and abstraction to an extreme. Her first published book, Three Lives (1909), the stories of three working-class women, has been called a minor masterpiece. The Making of Americans, a long composition written in 1906–11 but not published until 1925, was too convoluted and obscure for general readers, for whom she remained essentially the author of such lines as “Rose is a rose is a rose is a rose.” Her only book to reach a wide public was The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas (1933), actually Stein’s own autobiography. The performance in the United States of her Four Saints in Three Acts (1934), which the composer Virgil Thomson had made into an opera, led to a triumphal American lecture tour in 1934–35. Thomson also wrote the music for her second opera, The Mother of Us All (published 1947), based on the life of feminist Susan B. Anthony. One of Stein’s early short stories, “Q.E.D.,” was first published in Things as They Are (1950). The eccentric Stein was not modest in her self-estimation: “Einstein was the creative philosophic mind of the century, and I have been the creative literary mind of the century.” She became a legend in Paris, especially after surviving the German occupation of France and befriending the many young American servicemen who visited her. She wrote about these soldiers in Brewsie and Willie (1946).

Suggested Media

Stein Web Resources: Print

Francis Picabia
Alice B Toklas
Sinclair Lewis

Stein Web Resources: Video

The Significance of the Salon

• A Cradle of Modernism: The salon played a crucial role in the development of the modernist art and literary movement by bringing together innovative minds. • A Nurturing Environment: Stein and her partner Alice B. Toklas provided a supportive atmosphere for artists and writers, offering encouragement and a vital network for their careers. • A Confluence of Talent: The gatherings at 27 Rue de Fleurus were a melting pot of talent, creating a vibrant exchange of ideas that helped define the artistic landscape of the time.

Lost Generation Web Resources: Print

Sherwood Anderson
e e cummings
Dame Edith Sitwell

Lost Generation Web Resources: Video

Ernest Hemingway
Ezra Pound
F. Scott Fitzgerald

Salon Web Resources: Print

James Joyce
T. S. Eliot
Thornton Wilder

Salon Web Resources: Video

Georges Braque
Henri Matisse
Juan Gris

Direct & Indirect Connections to the Salon: A Sample

ERNEST HEMINGWAY: https://www.thecollector.com/gertrude-stein-ernest-hemingway-american-writers-in-paris/ F. SCOTT FITZGERALD (Stein’s appraisal of “The Great Gatsby”): openculture.com/2013/07/gertrude-stein-sends-a-review-of-the-great-gatsby-to-f-scott-fitzgerald-1925.htmlEZRA POUND (Poetry): https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/ezra-pound JAMES JOYCE (The “Feud”): https://ericmetaxas.com/watch-read/humor/when-titans-clash-the-james-joyce-gertrude-stein-feud/ THORNTON WILDER (NY TIMES review of their Letters): https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/books/98/05/03/specials/stein-letters.html SHERWOOD ANDERSON: https://suchfriends.wordpress.com/the-american-ex-patriates-in-paris/sherwood-anderson-and-gertrude-stein/ SINCLAIR LEWIS: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinclair_Lewis T. S. ELIOT: https://www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/documents/1977/pba117p401.pdf e. e. cummings: https://poetryarchive.org/poet/e-e-cummings/ EDITH SITWELL: https://www.the-independent.com/life-style/when-gertrude-stein-met-edith-sitwell-1576461.html PABLO PICASSO: https://www.sothebys.com/en/articles/gertrude-stein-and-pablo-picasso-the-language-of-friendship HENRI MATISSE: https://returnofanative.com/stories/the-geniuses/ GEORGES BRAQUE (and Cubism): https://www.phillipscollection.org/event/2013-06-07-georges-braque-and-cubist-still-life-1928-1945 JUAN GRIS: https://blog.dma.org/2021/03/15/gertrude-stein-and-juan-gris-a-close-connection/ JEAN COCTEAU: https://www.metmuseum.org/research-centers/leonard-a-lauder-research-center/research-resources/modern-art-index-project/cocteau VIRGIL THOMSON: https://www.loa.org/news-and-views/1231-gertrude-stein-and-virgil-thomsons-four-saints-sing-again-in-new-recording/ DARIUS MILHAUD: https://www.milkenarchive.org/artists/view/darius-milhaud ERIK SATIE: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Erik-Satie IGOR STRAVINSKY: https://confluence.gallatin.nyu.edu/context/interdisciplinary-seminar/experimental-composition-stravinsky-and-stein
Pablo Picasso
Arthur Honneger
Darius Milhaud

The Lost Generation Overview

© Britannica
Lost Generation, a group of American writers who came of age during World War I and established their literary reputations in the 1920s. The term is also used more generally to refer to the post-World War I generation. The generation was “lost” in the sense that its inherited values were no longer relevant in the postwar world and because of its spiritual alienation from a United States that, basking under Pres. Warren G. Harding’s “back to normalcy” policy, seemed to its members to be hopelessly provincial, materialistic, and emotionally barren. The term embraces Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, John Dos Passos, E.E. Cummings, Archibald MacLeish, Hart Crane, and many other writers who made Paris the center of their literary activities in the 1920s. They were never officially a literary school. Gertrude Stein is credited for the term Lost Generation, though Hemingway made it widely known. According to Hemingway’s A Moveable Feast (1964), she had heard it used by a garage owner in France, who dismissively referred to the younger generation as a “génération perdue.” In conversation with Hemingway, she turned that label on him and declared, “You are all a lost generation.” He used her remark as an epigraph to The Sun Also Rises (1926), a novel that captures the attitudes of a hard-drinking, fast-living set of disillusioned young expatriates in postwar Paris. In the 1930s, as these writers turned in different directions, their works lost the distinctive stamp of the postwar period. The last representative works of the era were Fitzgerald’s Tender Is the Night (1934) and Dos Passos’s The Big Money (1936).
Virgil Thomson
Carl Van Vechten

Significant Figures at the Salon

  • WRITERS AT STEIN’S SALON Writers who attended Gertrude Stein's famous Paris salon include Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ezra Pound, James Joyce, Thornton Wilder, and Sherwood Anderson, among others. These gatherings at 27 Rue de Fleurus served as a central hub for the modernist art and literary movement, fostering an environment of intellectual exchange and supporting emerging artists and writers. Key Writers at Gertrude Stein's Salon • Ernest Hemingway: A pivotal figure of the "Lost Generation" who described his experiences at the salon in his memoir A Moveable Feast. • F. Scott Fitzgerald: Another American expatriate and prominent member of the "Lost Generation" whose work was influenced by the Parisian literary scene. • Ezra Pound: An American poet and critic who was a significant force in the modernist movement and a regular at the salon. • James Joyce: The Irish novelist also attended and was a contemporary of Stein's, with their experimental writing styles often compared. • Thornton Wilder: The Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright and author also frequented the salon, which was a key part of the Parisian vanguard. • Sherwood Anderson: A significant American novelist whose presence at the salon connected him to the burgeoning modernist movement. • T.S. Eliot: An American-British poet, essayist, and writer. • E. E. Cummings: An American poet, painter, and author known for his innovative use of language. • Edith Sitwell: The British poet known for her 1930 “Collection” and “Façade,” a 1923 collection of poems recited to the music of William Walton. • Carl Van Vechten: American writer and artistic photographer who was a patron of the Harlem Renaissance and the literary executor of Gertrude Stein. • Mildred Aldrich: American journalist, editor, writer and translator. She spent her early career as a journalist and editor in Boston before moving to Paris, where she continued working as a foreign correspondent and translator. • René Crevel: French writer involved with the surrealist movement. • Sinclair Lewis: American novelist, short-story writer, and playwright. In 1930, he became the first author from the United States (and the first from the Americas) to receive the Nobel Prize in Literature. ARTISTS AT STEIN’S SALON Artists and writers like Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, Georges Braque, and Juan Gris attended Gertrude Stein's famous Paris salon, which was a hub for the modernist movement, along with painters such as Francis Picabia and René Crevel. Key Artistic Attendees • Pablo Picasso: A Spanish painter and co-founder of Cubism, he was a central figure in the salon. • Henri Matisse: A master of 20th-century art, known for his innovative use of color. • Georges Braque: A French painter and sculptor who was one of the co-founders of Cubism alongside Picasso. • Juan Gris: A Spanish painter who also co-founded Cubism with Picasso and Braque. • Francis Cyril Rose (Sir Francis, 4th Baronet of the Montreal Roses): English painter vigorously championed by Gertrude Stein. His wife Frederica, Lady Rose (1910–2002) became a well-known travel writer, notably on Corsica, under the name of Dorothy Carrington. • Francis Picabia: French avant-garde painter, writer, filmmaker, magazine publisher, poet, and typographist closely associated with Dada. • Claribel Cone and Etta Cone, collectively known as the Cone sisters, were active as American art collectors and socialites during the first part of the 20th century. MUSICIANS AND COMPOSERS AT STEIN’S SALON Musicians and composers who attended Gertrude Stein's salon included George Antheil, Virgil Thomson, Arthur Honegger, Darius Milhaud, and Florent Schmitt. Later, during the 1930s, American composer John Cage was influenced by Stein's writings, though they did not meet during his time in Paris. The salon fostered a vibrant atmosphere of artistic exchange and helped define the Modernist movement, with composers like Thomson collaborating closely with Stein, even creating operas together, such as Four Saints in Three Acts. Key Musical Figures in the Salon: • Virgil Thomson: Became a close musical collaborator with Stein, co-creating operas like Four Saints in Three Acts and The Mother of Us All. • Darius Milhaud: A member of the Les Six group of composers, whose works were featured and influential during the era. • Arthur Honegger: Another significant figure from Les Six who attended the gatherings. • Florent Schmitt: A composer and guest at the salon, participating in the international artistic discussions.
Mildred Aldrich
Rene Crevel
Francis Cyril Rose

Gertrude Stein's Published Works

• Three Lives (1909) • White Wines (1913) • Tender Buttons: Objects, Food, Rooms (1914) • An Exercise in Analysis (1917) • A Circular Play (1920) • Geography and Plays (1922), includes A List • The Making of Americans: Being a History of a Family's Progress (written 1906–11, published 1925) • Stanzas in Meditation (written 1929–1933, published 1956) • Four Saints in Three Acts (libretto, 1929: music by Virgil Thomson, 1934) • Useful Knowledge (1929) • An Acquaintance with Description (1929) • Lucy Church Amiably (1930). First edition published by Imprimerie Union in Paris. The first American edition was published in 1969 by Something Press. • How to Write (1931) • They Must. Be Wedded. To Their Wife (1931) • Operas and Plays (1932) • Matisse Picasso and Gertrude Stein with Two Shorter Stories (1933) • The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas (1933a) • Blood on the Dining Room Floor (1933b) • Portraits and Prayers (1934) • Lectures in America (1935) • The Geographical History of America or the Relation of Human Nature to the Human Mind (1936) • Everybody's Autobiography (1937) • Picasso, photo. Cecil Beaton (1938) • Doctor Faustus Lights the Lights (1938) • The World is Round, UK edition illus. Sir Francis Rose; US edition illus. Clement Hurd (1939) • Paris France (1940) • Ida A Novel (1941) • Three Sisters Who Are Not Sisters (1943) • Wars I Have Seen (1945a) • À la recherche d'un jeune peintre (Max-Pol Fouchet, ed., 1945b) • Reflections on the Atomic Bomb (1946a) • Brewsie and Willie (1946b) • The Mother of Us All (libretto, 1946c: music by Virgil Thompson 1947) • Gertrude Stein on Picasso (1946d) • Four in America (1947) • Mrs. Reynolds (1947) • Last Operas and Plays (Carl van Vechten, ed., 1949) • The Things as They Are (written as Q.E.D. in 1903, published 1950) • Patriarchal Poetry (1953) • Alphabets and Birthdays (1957) • Fernhurst, Q.E.D. and Other Early Writings (1971) • Vechten, Carl Van, ed. (1946). Selected Writings of Gertrude Stein. • Stein, Gertrude; van Vechten, Carl (1986), Burns, Edward (ed.), The Letters of Gertrude Stein and Carl Van Vechten, 1913–1946, New York: Columbia University Press, ISBN 978-0-231-06308-1.. • Stein, Gertrude; Wilder, Thornton (1996), Burns, Edward; Dydo, Ulla, eds., The Letters of Gertrude Stein and Thornton Wilder, Yale University Press, ISBN 978-0-300-06774-3. • Stein, Gertrude (1998a), Chessman, Harriet; Stimpson, Catharine R. (eds.), Writings 1903–1932, Library of America, ISBN 978-1-883011-40-6. • ———————— (1998b), Chessman, Harriet; Stimpson, Catharine R. (eds.), Writings 1932–1946, Library of America, ISBN 978-1-883011-41-3. • Toklas, Alice (1973), Burns, Edward (ed.), Staying on Alone: Letters, New York: Liveright, ISBN 978-0-87140-569-2. • Grahn, Judy, ed. (1989), Really Reading Gertrude Stein: A Selected Anthology with Essays by Judy Grahn, Crossing Press, ISBN 978-0-89594-380-4 • Vechten, Carl Van, ed. (1990). Selected Writings of Gertrude Stein. ISBN 0-679-72464-8