Gertrude Stein, Salons, and the Women in the Kitchen

Books
Written By Laurie Mucha
A packed evening event at the London Library, three speakers seated before a floor-to-ceiling wall of books as an audience listens.

Art/Lit Salon at The London Library

I went to a wonderful event at the London Library the other night — an Art/Lit salon devoted to the life and work of Gertrude Stein. 

As you probably know, Stein was an American woman who went to Paris, declared herself an eccentric genius and then proceeded to act like one. Her salons were notoriously not for everyone.  Even her closest friends (Picasso, Cezanne, Matisse) found her exceedingly difficult. 

Recreation of Gertrude Stein's Paris salon at 27 rue de Fleurus, its walls covered floor-to-ceiling with modernist paintings including works by Picasso and Cézanne.

Salon de Fleurus is an artwork, a contemporary reconstruction of Gertrude Stein’s Parisian salon that existed at 27 rue de Fleurus from 1904-34.

Here’s the part of the story that always rubs me the wrong way. While Stein held court in the salon, her partner, Alice B Toklas entertained the wives in the kitchen. 

Which is strange because Toklas was Stein’s editor, manager and literary advocate. She was absolutely essential to Stein’s intellectual life and social network. 

So why did Toklas so readily “keep the wives occupied” while Stein conversed with the writers and artists in the other room? 

I’d love to go back in time and pull those women out of the kitchen and sit them down. What did they think about all this? 

Black and white photograph of Gertrude Stein in the foreground, hands behind her back, with Alice B. Toklas standing smaller in the background — the composition saying everything the post is about.

The woman behind the woman. Cecil Beaton Archive / Condé Nast

Meanwhile, in New York City….

A different movement was afoot. Female artists, writers and patrons were founding what would become some of the world’s most celebrated institutions. MoMA was founded by Abby Aldrich Rockefeller, the Whitney by Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney, and the Guggenheim by Hilla von Rebay. 

And then there was Florine Stettheimer: An artist who hosted salons in her apartment on the Upper West Side of Manhattan - and encouraged creative exchange between artists of all genders. 

Florine Stettheimer - Studio Party (Soirée)

Some women waited to be invited into the room. Others built the room.

xo, L

P.S. For when I have time for a deep dive…

Two books on a wooden table: "Gertrude Stein: An Afterlife" by Francesca Wade, and "The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas" illustrated by Maira Kalman.

"Gertrude Stein: An Afterlife" by Francesca Wade, and "The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas" by Gertrude Stein and illustrated by Maira Kalman.

Laurie Mucha
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