On the Homepage: “Portraits of Gertrude Stein, Patron of the Avant Garde, The American writer Gertrude Stein (1874-1946) spent most of her life in Paris where she became an important collector and supporter of the avant-garde. She not only bought many paintings and sculptures by artists such as Henri Matisse and Pablo Picasso while they were still in the early stages of their careers, but she also served as a model for many of their works. Her unique physiognomy and her signature hairstyle--inspired artists such as Picasso, Jacques Lipchitz, and Francis Picabia  to use her physical appearance for formal research. By choosing a frontal view and emphasizing in simple lines the volumes of her face and body, (the) portrait presents Stein with her calm expression as dignified and reserved, incarnating a patron of the arts.

Gertrude Stein 1993 oil on canvas  by Francis Picabia

--Text and image from the Yale Gallery of Art.

On the Homepage: Screenprint of Gertrude Stein’s Novel. “American-born and British-based artist  R.B. Kitaj began to work in screenprinting at Kelpra Studio in the mid-1960s. Kitaj pursued his cultural and artistic identity through subjects as varied as history, film, literature, Jewish identity, and politics. Dissociated from their normal use, the books function here as aesthetic curiosities and provide a complex portrait of Kitaj as an artist and book collector.”

--Screenprint by R.B. Kitaj at Nasher Museum of Art, text by Nasher Curator Dr. Marshall Price. For more information about the exhibit read here.