Florine Stettheimer: A Biography

by Barbara Bloemink

Lauded by the New Yorker as one of “The Best Books of 2022 So Far,” this comprehensive biography establishes Florine Stettheimer as one of the most innovative artists of the early twentieth century.
 
Florine Stettheimer was a feminist, multi-media artist who documented New York City’s growth as the center of cultural life, finance, and entertainment between the World Wars. During her first forty years, spent mostly in Europe, Florine Stettheimer studied academic painting and was aware of the earliest modernist styles prior to most American artists. Returning to New York, she and her sisters led an acclaimed salon for major avant-garde cultural figures including Marcel Duchamp, the Stieglitz circle, and numerous poets, dancers, and writers. During her life, Stettheimer showed her innovative paintings in more than forty of the most important museum exhibits and salons. She also wrote poetry, designed unique furniture, and gained international fame for the sets and costumes she created for the avant-garde opera, Four Saints in Three Acts . Stettheimer’s work was also socially she painted several identity-issue paintings, addressing African American segregation, Jewish bigotry, fluid sexuality, and women’s new independence.

This biography presents one of the first comprehensive readings of Stettheimer’s art. Barbara Bloemink establishes Stettheimer’s place as one of the twentieth century’s most significant and progressive artists and examines why her unique work remains relevant today.
 

Genres: Art, Biography, Nonfiction, Art History

432 pages, Hardcover

Published February 1, 2022

Reviews

[Cameron Toney · Rating 3 out of 5]

Biography can be a bit of a mixed bag. I'm reading them because I'm interested in the subject, but sometimes the biographer is so enthused for the subject that they dismiss any criticism outright. I am a new but growing fan of Stettheimers paintings- I find them lush, feminine, witty and fun, and I find her and her family to be interesting. The author agrees, but I felt that any criticisms of the artist were just hand waved away as being wrong.
Still, this is a good read for both the information about the artist, and all the gorgeous pictures of her work!

[Evan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Barbara Bloemink, who has curated an exhibition on Florine Stettheimer, has written the definitive biography of this long-forgotten, Jewish painter from the first few decades of the 20th century. Stettheimer is from a wealth Jewish family and lived a life of privilege in New York City, especially compared to the immigrant Jews from Eastern Europe in that same time period. Florine Stettheimer was a brilliant painter, with a unique style, whose modern acolytes included Andy Warhol. Her contemporary, and close friend, Marcel Duchamp, lauded her work. Unfortunately, Ms. Stettheimer's paintings were shown at exhibitions, and then returned to her the safety of her home and studio, and never seen again until after her death, when her Executor, donated them to museums around the country. Those museums, including the Met and MOMA, relegated her works to the basement, and not until 1995 did she even get a full-scale retrospective, courtesy of Ms. Bloemink. This book reproduces these astonishingly beautiful paintings, and Ms. Bloemink's prose -- free of the usual jargon of art critics -- makes each one come alive. Florine Stettheimer is truly one of the greatest American painters, and it is a true crime, that she is not well known. Buy this book, and read it, and see it, and enjoy it. You will be elated by the quality of Florine Stettheimer's paintings, and taste.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent biography and review of Florine Stettheimer's work. Bloemink corrects the record about Stettheimer (she held unveilings of her new pieces and her art appeared in dozens of exhibitions during her lifetime), highlights the progressive and feminist aspects of her paintings and life, and walks readers through the various jokes and easter eggs in many of the paintings.

[Simone · Rating 3 out of 5]

j’ai lu Saisonnière de Audrey Pépin et Daphnee Bouchard, et en le scannant ce livre est sorti donc je le marque comme terminé. j’ai beaucoup aimé le poseur et le mélange de médium du recueil, sa petitesse et sa délicatesse

[Judy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent biography of Florine Stettheimer -- a long time coming. Lots of photographs of her work and interesting text.