Florine Stettheimer

Born in Rochester, New York, Florine Stettheimer was brought up in an affluent and educated family that moved back and forth between Europe and the United States. Stettheimer enrolled at the Art Students League in New York City in 1892 to study painting, and after completing her studies, she moved to Europe, where she encountered avant-garde art. Her works from the period reflect Stettheimer’s experimentation with symbolist and Post-Impressionist techniques—approaches she assimilated and brought back with her when she returned to New York City at the beginning of World War I. Upon her return, Stettheimer established herself in the New York art world, hosting salons attended by artists such as Georgia O’Keeffe and Marcel Duchamp and further developing her own style. Stettheimer’s impressions of New York life from this time are notable both stylistically and for their transgressions of contemporary social conventions surrounding race and sexuality. Although she did not exhibit prolifically in the years following her return to New York—both because of her own hesitations and the reluctance of art audiences—Stettheimer did garner recognition during her lifetime, showing at a number of important exhibitions and galleries.