The Paris salons that Gertrude Stein hosted at the beginning of the 20^th century, first with her brothers Leo and Michael (with his wife Sarah), and later, her life companion Alice B. Toklas, had a lasting influence on the American taste for Modernism and the Avant Garde. Exhibitions coast to coast are celebrating what became something of an epicenter for the arts, in Paris, San Francisco, and Baltimore.

In San Francisco, the blockbuster show at SFMoMA, The Steins Collect: Matisse, Picasso, and the Parisian Avant-Garde, has been such a success that the museum is extending its viewing hours. It is expected to host some 350,000 visitors by the time it closes on September 6, at the end of what has unofficially been dubbed the "Summer of Stein" in San Francisco, according the press office.

Left and center: Pablo Picasso, "Gertrude Stein," 1906, oil on canvas; Henri Matisse, "Woman with a Hat," 1905, oil on canvas; courtesy SFMoMA. Right: Henri Matisse, “Interior, Flowers and Parakeets.” Baltimore Museum of Art, Cone Collection, Succession H. Matisse/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York.

While works by Picasso and Matisse dominate, there are also paintings by Cezanne, Manet, Renoir, and other exponents of this explosive period in the arts. The exhibition also includes a detailed look at the Villa Stein-de Monzie, the residence built for the couple outside Paris by Le Corbusier.

The Steins Collect continues through September 6^th at SFMoMA, 151 Third Street (between Mission and Howard), San Francisco, CA. It then travels to the Grand Palais in Paris (Oct 3, 2011 to Jan 16, 2012), then to New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art (February-June 2012).

Just around the corner, at the Contemporary Jewish Museum, is Seeing Gertrude Stein: Five Stories, an exhibition devoted to images of and documents about Stein, who spent part of her childhood in Oakland, California. Through a portrayal of Stein's contributions in her writings, patronage, and lifestyle, the exhibition provides an intimate look at Stein's complex relationship to her identity, culture, and history.

Stein was a cultural networker, bringing creative people and friends together—such as Picasso, Matisse and Hemingway, but also key members of a cosmopolitan gay and lesbian elite—at legendary salons held in her homes. Her originality as a thinker, along with her interdisciplinary approach to projects in literature, dance, music, and theater continue to inspire artists today.

Images of Stein changed considerably over the decades, from her Gibson Girl “New Woman” look during her student days, to her reinvention as a Bohemian priestess in Paris at the turn of the century, to her matronly look after World War I and her masculine dress in waistcoats after she cut her hair in 1926. As she transformed herself, she became one of the most painted, sculpted and photographed women of the twentieth-century.

Seeing Gertrude Stein continues through September 6^th at the Contemporary Jewish Museum, 736 Mission Street, San Francisco, CA. It will then be presented at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C. (October 14, 2011 through January 22, 2012).

Meanwhile, here in New York, The Jewish Museum presents another pair of American collecting siblings with Collecting Matisse and Modern Masters: The Cone Sisters of Baltimore. As daughters of prosperous German-Jewish immigrants, the Cone sisters were well-educated and widely traveled. Generously supported financially by the successful Cone family textile business, Claribel and Etta made regular trips to Europe to purchase art. They often visited Gertrude Stein and her brother Leo, in Paris.

Their story is told through archival materials, including Etta's diary from her first trip to Italy where Leo Stein introduced her to Renaissance art, and Etta and Claribel's account books showing their passion for collecting not only contemporary art, but also jewelry, textiles, furniture, and other objects.

Through the Steins the Cone sisters became acquainted with a wide circle of artists, musicians, and writers who would influence their collecting. They were introduced to Picasso and Matisse and the sisters became friends and patrons of both artists. The Cone sisters amassed an exceptional collection of approximately 3,000 objects, many of which were displayed in their Baltimore apartments. The highlight is a group of 500 works by Matisse, considered the largest and most significant in the world.

Collecting Matisse and Modern Masters continues through September 25^th at The Jewish Museum. 1109 Fifth Avenue at 92^nd Street, New York, NY. The next stop on its tour is the Vancouver Art Gallery, in June 2012.

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