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Catalyst
Gertrude Stein at Bilignin
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Van Vechten, Carl. Gertrude Stein at Bilignin – inscribed to the Conductor of “Four Saints in Three Acts” and “Porgy and Bess.’ France, June 1934. Inscribed by Gertrude Stein and signed by the artist. Silver gelatin print, 9.5 x 6.25 in., affixed to original mount, 12.25 x 12.5 in.
Submitted for adoption by Gabrielle Dean, PhD
Rare photo of Gertrude Stein (1874-1946) at age 60 by critic, novelist, and photographer Carl Van Vechten (1880-1964), picturing Stein looking out over France’s Rhône Valley with mountains rising in the distance.
The mount is signed and inscribed in black ink, “For Alexander Smallens, in appreciation, Gertrude Stein.” The mount is also signed by Van Vechten.
From their first meeting in 1913, Stein and Van Vechten formed a unique and powerful relationship, and Van Vechten worked vigorously to publish and promote Stein’s work. Stein named him as her literary executor and he helped to usher into print works of hers that remained unpublished at the time of her death.
This photograph complements our Robert A. Wilson Collection of Gertrude Stein Materials, selections of which are currently on view in the exhibition Gertrude Stein in Circles: Spheres of Life and Writing.
