Gertrude Stein
Gertrude Stein (February 3, 1874 – July 27, 1946) was a noted American art collector of seminal modernist paintings and an experimental writer of novels, poetry and plays, which eschewed the narrative, linear, and temporal conventions of 19th century literature. She moved to Paris in 1903, making France her home for the remainder of her life. For some forty years, the Stein home on the Left Bank of Paris would become a renowned Saturday evening gathering place for expatriate American artists and writers, and others noteworthy in the world of vanguard arts and letters. Entrée and membership in the Stein salon was a sought-after validation, signifying that Stein had recognized a talent worthy of inclusion into a rarefied group of gifted artists. Stein became combination mentor, critic, and guru to those who gathered around her. A self-defined "genius", she was described as an imposing figure with a commanding manner whose inordinate self-confidence could intimidate. Among her coterie she was referred to as “Le Stein” and with less laudatory deference as “The Presence.”
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Famous quotes containing the words gertrude stein and/or stein:
“Clarity is of no importance because nobody listens and
nobody knows what you mean no matter what you mean,
nor how clearly you mean what you mean. But if you
have vitality enough of knowing enough of what you
mean, somebody and sometime and sometimes a great
many will have to realize that you know what you mean
and so they will agree that you mean what you know,
what you know you mean, which is as near as anybody
can come to understanding any one.”
—Gertrude Stein (1874–1946)
“A real failure does not need an excuse. It is an end in itself.”
—Gertrude Stein (1874–1946)