Pablo Picasso arrived on Saturday nights. So did Henri Matisse, Ernest Hemingway, and F. Scott Fitzgerald. Years before they were legends, they joined other artists, writers, and poets at a small Paris apartment at 27 rue de Fleurus. Why?  Because Gertrude Stein lived there.

My name is Nicholas Stein. Gertrude and I are first cousins twice removed. My grandfather Julian Stein, Sr. was her favorite cousin and later in her life he managed her finances. My grandmother Rose Ellen Stein corresponded with Gertrude for over forty years and even filmed her in home movies. My talk draws on a wealth of archival materials along with letters, photographs, and footage from my family’s own collection, most of which has never been shown publicly.

I am a filmmaker and this presentation is built like a film. In this media-rich lecture, the legend of Gertrude Stein and her Salon is just the tip of the iceberg. The two World Wars, the American lecture tour, the love story with Alice B. Toklas, the portrait by Picasso, the rupture with Hemingway — it’s all here. 

By the end of my talk Gertrude Stein is more than an art collector, a muse, and an avant-garde writer. She's a real woman — funny, formidable, occasionally infuriating, and impossible to forget.

“I must tell you how brilliant I thought your presentation was … Everyone else did too — 100% positive feedback. One of the best things we’ve ever done.” 

— Santa Barbara VISTAS Lifelong Learning, Curriculum Director Jill Breedon

Watch a 5-minute reel from the presentation: youtu.be/qbl4vLWrvoc 

Exclusive Pasadena Village Presentation in 2 parts - June 11 & 18, 2PM  

If you have any questions please contact the event organizer, Bob Niemack.