Florine Stettheimer
Baron de Meyer
1923
Physical Qualities
Oil on canvas, Unframed: 38 1/8 x 26 in. (96.8 x 66 cm) Framed: 44 3/8 x 32 3/8 x 3 1/2 in. (112.7 x 82.2 x 8.9 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of Ettie Stettheimer
Object Number
1951.32
This portrait of Baron Adolph de Meyer (1868–1946), a founding fashion photographer for magazines including Vanity Fair and Vogue, depicts him as an elegant cosmopolitan figure. Attributes of his profession surround him: a camera draped in black lace, a tasseled curtain, an upholstered chair, and even a beam of light shining down from overhead.
The embroidery suspended above him reads “B de M/in pleasant
remembrance/FS/1923,” commemorating de Meyer’s departure from New York to accept a position at Harper’s Bazaar in Paris. Florine Stettheimer was known for her theatrical and symbolic portraits of family and friends, many completed in the 1910s and 1920s.
The Baltimore Museum of Art by gift, 1951; from the artist's sister, Ettie Stettheimer, New York
Durlacher Bros., New York, 'Florine Stettheimer', October 29 - November 23, 1963.
The Baltimore Museum of Art, Baltimore,'American Art 1900-1930: Paintings and Works on Paper from the Museum Collection', September 5 - October 22, 1978.
Elisabeth Sussman, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, 'Florine Stettheimer: Manhattan Fantastica', August 23 - November 5, 1995.
The Jewish Museum, New York, " The Power of Conversation: Jewish Women and Their Salons," March 5, 2005 - July 10, 2005; tour to McMullen Art Museum, Boston College, September 05 - December 05, 2005.
Städtische Galerie im Lenbachhaus und Kunstbau, Munich, "Florine Stettheimer," September 26, 2014 - January 4, 2015.
The Jewish Museum, New York, "Florine Stettheimer", May 5 - September 24, 2017; Art Gallery of Ontario, October 21, 2017 - January 15, 2018
Virginia Anderson, The Baltimore Museum of Art, "By Their Creative Force: American Women Modernists," October 6, 2019 — July 5, 2020
The Baltimore Museum of Art, Baltimore,'American Art 1900-1930: Paintings and Works on Paper from the Museum Collection', September 5 - October 22, 1978.
Elisabeth Sussman, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, 'Florine Stettheimer: Manhattan Fantastica', August 23 - November 5, 1995.
The Jewish Museum, New York, " The Power of Conversation: Jewish Women and Their Salons," March 5, 2005 - July 10, 2005; tour to McMullen Art Museum, Boston College, September 05 - December 05, 2005.
Städtische Galerie im Lenbachhaus und Kunstbau, Munich, "Florine Stettheimer," September 26, 2014 - January 4, 2015.
The Jewish Museum, New York, "Florine Stettheimer", May 5 - September 24, 2017; Art Gallery of Ontario, October 21, 2017 - January 15, 2018
Virginia Anderson, The Baltimore Museum of Art, "By Their Creative Force: American Women Modernists," October 6, 2019 — July 5, 2020
Sussman, Elizabeth, Barbara J. Bloemink and Linda Nochlin. "Florine Stettheimer: Manhattan fantastica." New York: Harry N Abrams, 1995. fig 100
Bloemink, Barbara J. "The Life and Art of Florine Stettheimer." New Haven: Yale University Press, 1995. p. 141, ill fig 78
Whiting, Cécile. "Decorating with Stettheimer and the Boys.” American Art 14, no. 1 (Spring 2000), p 32 fig 7
Althaus, Karin, Matthias Mühling and Susanne Böller. Translated by Gerrit Jackson. Florine Stettheimer. University of Chicago, 2014. fig 29
Bloemink, Barbara. "Florine Stettheimer: A Biography." Munich: Hirmer Verlag GmbH, 2021
Inscribed: FACE: (in green paint) in rug border, l.r., 'Florine Stettheimer 1923'; framed embroidery above figure, 'B DE M/IN /PLEASANT/REMEMBRANCE/FS/1923'. VERSO STRETCHER: (in blue paint), 'Baron de Meyer Feb 28, 1923'; (in red paint on top of and partially obscuring the blue inscription),'Florine Stettheimer February 28 - 1923'.
On View: American Wing Second Floor, Scott 02
