Leo Stein

This article is about the American art critic. For the Polish writer, see Leo Stein (writer).

Art collector / critic Leo Stein (1872-1947), elder brother of Gertrude Stein. Photo by Carl Van Vechten, November 9, 1937

Leo Stein (1872 – July 29, 1947) was an American art collector and critic. He was born in Allegheny, Pennsylvania, the older brother of Gertrude Stein. He became an influential promoter of 20th-century paintings. Beginning in 1892, he studied at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, for two years. The following year, he traveled the world with his cousin, Fred. In 1897, he transferred to Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, where he graduated with a bachelor of arts degree in 1898.

By 1912, due to romance-induced conflict, a rift had developed between the two, and they parted company.

Stein returned to America to work as a journalist but eventually settled near Florence, Italy, with his long-time love interest, Nina Auzias. They eventually married in 1921.

Stein died of cancer in 1947 in Florence. Auzias committed suicide two years later.

Publications

• Stein, Leo. Appreciation: Painting, Poetry, and Prose. 1947. Reprint. University of Nebraska Press, 1996.
• Stein, Leo. The A-B-C of Aesthetics. New York: Boni & Liveright, 1927.
• Stein, Leo. "Pablo Picasso." The New Republic (April 23, 1924): p. 229-230.

Sources

• Wineapple, Brenda. Sister Brother: Gertrude and Leo Stein. London: Putnam, 1996.
• Four Americans in Paris: The Collections of Gertrude Stein and Her Family. New York: Museum of Modern Art, 1970.