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    Modernist Mentor: A Biography of Gertrude Stein
    Modernist Mentor: A Biography of Gertrude Stein
    Modernist Mentor: A Biography of Gertrude Stein
    Ebook64 pages1 hour

    Modernist Mentor: A Biography of Gertrude Stein

    By Paul Brody

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    About this ebook

    Gertrude Stein came from unassuming beginnings in Pennsylvania to become a central figure in the birth and development of Modern Art. She was friends with many of the leading painters and writers of multiple generations, as well as being on the sidelines of several of the 20th century’s most profound events, namely both world wars.

    Her writing evolved from juvenilia to dense, repetitive, experimental, prose, and then finally to an autobiographical phase near the end of her life. She waited many years for the mainstream of society to recognize her genius, but when they did, her fame was almost unmatched.

    This biography looks at the life, times and career of Gertrude Stein.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBookCaps
    Release dateMay 23, 2014
    ISBN9781311923950
    Modernist Mentor: A Biography of Gertrude Stein

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      Book preview

      Modernist Mentor - Paul Brody

      LifeCaps Presents:

      Modernist Mentor

      A Biography of Gertrude Stein

      By Paul Brody

      © 2011 by Golgotha Press, Inc./LifeCaps

      Published at SmashWords

      www.bookcaps.com

      About LifeCaps

      LifeCaps is an imprint of BookCaps™ Study Guides. With each book, a lesser known or sometimes forgotten life is is recapped. We publish a wide array of topics (from baseball and music to literature and philosophy), so check our growing catalogue regularly (www.bookcaps.com) to see our newest books.

      Introduction

      Gertrude Stein came from unassuming beginnings in Pennsylvania to become a central figure in the birth and development of Modern Art. She was friends with many of the leading painters and writers of multiple generations, as well as being on the sidelines of several of the 20th century’s most profound events, namely both world wars.

      Her writing evolved from juvenilia to dense, repetitive, experimental, prose, and then finally to an autobiographical phase near the end of her life. She waited many years for the mainstream of society to recognize her genius, but when they did, her fame was almost unmatched.

      Chapter 1: Early Life and Family

      Gertrude Stein was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1874, though a large part of her childhood was spent in Europe. More than 30 years earlier, her grandfather, Meyer Stein, had arrived in the United States to try to make his fortune. In Baltimore, he found success in textiles and clothing, and he soon brought the rest of his family over. These included his mother and father, along with four brothers. Eight-year-old Daniel Stein would become the father of Gertrude.

      In 1862, Daniel and his brother Solomon attempted to go into business together, but the relationship was rocky from the very start. They headed over the Appalachian Mountains to Pittsburgh, then a small but growing community where the waters of the Monongahela and Allegheny come together to form the Ohio River. The two of them established the Stein Brothers Clothing Store, attempting to replicate the success of their father in Baltimore. The business barely lasted more than a decade, however, as the brothers fought endlessly.

      Some of the brotherly quarrels were quietly egged on by Amelia Keyser, whom Daniel married in 1864. She, too, was the daughter of German immigrants who settled in Baltimore. Shy and reserved by nature, she nevertheless sometimes picked petty fights with her sister-in-law Pauline.

      By 1874, the Stein family had grown as large as it ever would: Michael was born in 1865, Simon in 1867, Bertha in 1870, Leo in 1872, and Gertrude in 1874. Between Leo and Bertha, Amelia had lost two children at childbirth. Later in life, Gertrude and Leo felt privileged to have been born after a pair of such disasters.

      After the last in a series of nasty arguments, Daniel and the family packed their belongings and headed back to the Old Country. Joining them on the voyage was Amelia’s sister Rachel. The Steins settled in Vienna and eased into a comfortable, middle-class existence. They enjoyed servants, a governess, and a tutor. The city was a cultural and artistic hive of activity, and the youngest of the family, Gertrude, remembered walks in the carefully manicured gardens and outdoor concerts. On her third birthday, she received picture books among her many presents, which may have triggered her lifelong affection for both words and pictures.

      As was typical of well-to-do parents of the era, especially those in which the father had business interests all across the continent, Daniel and Amelia often left the children in the care of Rachel of a servant while they went on trips. Eventually, Daniel went to America on an extended business trip, and Amelia’s brother Ephraim stepped into the role of babysitter. The overall effect was that the Stein children had a lot of freedom growing up. For Gertrude, freedom meant having everything her way and being doted on constantly.

      In letters to Daniel in America, Rachel reported that his youngest daughter was the most precocious of them all, talking up a storm day and night. She naturally became the center of attention, a position she would more or less hold the rest of her life. She was certainly aware of her advantageous position as the youngest child in a large family. Adults and siblings alike pampered her and ensured that she had to do little, if anything, for herself.

      Amelia Stein, frustrated with her husband’s long absences, left Vienna behind in November 1878. Gertrude

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