09/06/2021
Ever inspired by the theatrical style of Florine Stettheimer 🎟
Florine Stettheimer (1871-1944) was an American modernist painter who used her highly personal and idiosyncratic perspective to offer wry social commentary. Born in Rochester, New York she first studied art at the Art Students League in New York City from 1892 to 1895. In 1906, her family moved to Europe where Stettheimer continued studying art and was exposed to Post-Impressionism and Symbolism.
As the First World War broke out, the Stettheimers returned to Manhattan and the four Stettheimer women began hosting salons in their apartment which attracted well known artists, authors and art critics. It was during this time that Florine Stettheimer honed her unique vision, characterized by a vivid palette, stylized figures, and frequent critical depictions of the urban and privileged world of New York City.
Although Stettheimer achieved little mainstream success throughout her career, historians have begun to recognize the importance of her work and the satirical, socially inspired messages coded in her art.
:
1) Asbury Park South (c. 1920): Oil on canvas painting with bright yellows and vibrant reds, depicting wealthy, racially diverse Americans frolicking together at the New Jersey beach; at the time of this painting, the beach at Asbury Park was segregated.
2) Portrait of Louis Bouché (c. 1923): Oil on canvas painting in dark greens and browns and a painted white lace background, depicting an androgynous portrait of Louis Bouché. Although Bouché wears a traditionally masculine suit, his figure's slender frame and long, delicate limbs meld together as a statement on gender fluidity.
3) The Cathedrals of Art (c. 1942): Oil on canvas painting in white, pinks and reds, depicting a composite portrait of New York's Museum of Modern Art in the upper left, The Metropolitan Museum of Art in the centre and the Whitney Museum of American Art in the upper right. Gathered around the Met's grand staircase is a crowd of dealers, art critics and photographers, including Stettheimer in the lower right.
