The Bruegel Of Bendel’s
Christopher Benfey writes: ‘The antic Jazz Age canvases of the painter, poet, and theatrical designer Florine Stettheimer (1871-1944) can give the impression, at first glance, of a never-ending party. Through her closely observant work, we are granted entrée to exclusive birthday celebrations (with her pals Marcel Duchamp and Alfred Stieglitz recognizably in attendance), Fourth of July fireworks over Manhattan, and a frenzied spring sale at Bendel’s, though it might as well be Bruegel’s. Her signature filigrees of paint, especially red (associated at the time with the Ballets-Russes, for which Stettheimer dreamed of designing costumes, as well as with the Russian Revolution) and layer-cake-icing white, add a frothy dynamism to the festivities.’
