“I am I because my little dog knows me.” Gertrude Stein
portrait of Alice Toklas ,1952.(probably with Basket II)
Dora Maar and her portrait of Alice B. Toklas by Michel Sima.
“I always say that you cannot tell what a picture really is or what an object really is until you dust it every day and you cannot tell what a book is until you type it or proof-read it. It then does something to you that only reading it never can do.” ― Gertrude Stein, The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas
“I always say that you cannot tell what a picture really is or what an object really is until you dust it every day and you cannot tell what a book is until you type it or proof-read it. It then does something to you that only reading it never can do.” ― Gertrude Stein, The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas
(Stein wrote the book-posing as Alice-it turned out to be Stein's most popular and best selling work.)
When Gertrude Stein died in 1946 she left a portion of her estate to her Alice, her lifelong partner- along with paintings by Picasso. Together since 1907, the 39 year relationship wasn't recognized legally and while Alice was vacationing, Stein's relatives removed the paintings. She had been all things to Stein, living in the background as confidante, lover, cook, secretary, muse, editor, critic. To support herself, Toklas turned to friends and writing after the theft. The Alice Toklas Cookbook reflects on her life with Stein and includes her recipes as well. She lived for 21 years after Stein's death and died in poverty at the age of 89.
She said of Gertrude, “I am nothing, but a memory of her.”
