Gertrude Stein is an outdoor bronze sculpture of Gertrude Stein, located at Bryant Park in Manhattan, New York. The casting was installed in 1992 and is based on a model created by Jo Davidson in Paris in 1923. It neighbors the New York Public Library Main Branch, which, according to the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, commemorates Stein’s “significant literary contributions”
One of five sculptures in the park, this statue honors the trailblazing American author and arts patron Gertrude Stein (1874–1946). Installed in 1992, this casting is based on a model made by Jo Davidson (1883–1952) in Paris in 1923. Its proximity to the New York Public Library reflects Stein’s significant literary contributions—from plays, librettos, and film scripts to biographies, autobiographies, lectures, essays, poems, and novels. Born in Allegheny, Pennsylvania, Stein was the granddaughter of German-Jewish immigrants. Her father Daniel made a fortune in street-railroads and real estate. Stein spent her early childhood in Vienna and Paris before moving with her family to Oakland, California. She studied psychology with the famous psychologist and philosopher William James (1842–1910) at Radcliffe College in Boston and conducted laboratory experiments there with Hugo Munsterberg. Stein nearly completed a medical degree at Johns Hopkins University, but in 1903 she chose to settle in Paris with her brother Leo, where they befriended Pablo Picasso and became champions of avant garde writers, musicians, and artists, including many early Cubist painters.