Costume design (Androcles and the Lion) by Florine Stettheimer - c. 1912 - 30.2 x 45.4 cm Museum of Modern Art Costume design (Androcles and the Lion) by Florine Stettheimer - c. 1912 - 30.2 x 45.4 cm Museum of Modern Art

Costume design (Androcles and the Lion)

Oil, yarn, fabric, and lace on wood • 30.2 x 45.4 cm
  • Florine Stettheimer - August 29, 1871 - May 11, 1944 Florine Stettheimer c. 1912

We continue celebrations of Women's History Month with Florine Stettheimer, who was an American modernist painter, feminist, theatrical designer, poet, and salonnière. Stettheimer developed a feminine, theatrical painting style depicting her friends, family, and experiences in New York City.

As you can read, Stettheimer was a woman of many talents and huge energy. In 1912, thrilled by Afternoon of a Faun, a symphonic poem for orchestra by Claude Debussy that she heard in Paris, she composed a sort of fan-fiction ballet, Orphée of the Quat-z-Arts, in which a girl, separated from her father during a festive procession of art students, finds herself at a bacchanal with gods, goddesses, and Apache dancers. She dances with Orpheus until Mars intrudes. The show was never produced, but we have terrific costume designs created by the artist, one of which we present today. 

Twenty years later Stettheimer created another sensational theater project: the costumes made of cellophane, feathers, and sequins, for Gertrude Stein’s buoyantly befuddling opera, Four Saints in Three Acts. (The production caused a sensation on Broadway in 1934 ... but that is another story!)

P.S. Read more about Stettheimer's charming, witty, and very colorful life and works.  <3

P.P.S. Dear DailyArt users, please consider donating to the development of our new DailyArt apps. Without them we won't be able to operate much longer, as the ones you use now are simply too old.  :(  Learn how you can help!