A Rosy Birthday
Avant-garde author Gertrude Stein, who penned such lines as "A rose is a rose is a rose is a rose," was born on this day in 1874.
In addition to her stories, poetry, and plays, Stein was famous for hosting an artists' salon in her Paris home between the world wars. At these gatherings, modern experimental painters such as Henri Matisse and Pablo Picasso rubbed shoulders with literary greats Ernest Hemingway and Ezra Pound. Stein's friendship with cubist painters ultimately influenced her writing style, which often combined phrases in surprising new ways that challenge the sense and meaning of the words.
Red Grooms created today's portrait of Gertrude Stein, which complements her poem.
I am Rose
I am Rose my eyes are blue
I am Rose and who are you
I am Rose and when I sing
I am Rose like anything
Pictured: Red Grooms, born 1937, Gertrude, 1975, color lithograph and collage on paper mounted on paperboard, 18 3/4 x 19 x 9 7/8 in., Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Jacob Kainen and museum purchase through a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.
Avant-garde author Gertrude Stein, who penned such lines as "A rose is a rose is a rose is a rose," was born on this day in 1874.
In addition to her stories, poetry, and plays, Stein was famous for hosting an artists' salon in her Paris home between the world wars. At these gatherings, modern experimental painters such as Henri Matisse and Pablo Picasso rubbed shoulders with literary greats Ernest Hemingway and Ezra Pound. Stein's friendship with cubist painters ultimately influenced her writing style, which often combined phrases in surprising new ways that challenge the sense and meaning of the words.