Welcome to a Parisian salon. This staged dramatic reading brings to life a collection of stories from Paris Portraits: Stories of Picasso, Matisse, Gertrude Stein, and Their Circle, by Harriet Lane Levy (1867–1950), a celebrated San Francisco writer and theater critic.

Actress Laura Sheppard portrays the stories of Harriet Lane Levy, who moved to Paris in 1907 with her friend and neighbor Alice B. Toklas and suddenly found herself immersed in a strange and vibrant world. Levy tells of her initiation into the Parisian lifestyle and salons of the Steins (Gertrude and brother Leo, and brother Michael and his wife Sarah), the rivalry between Picasso and Matisse, wild nights in Montmartre, and her own discoveries as a single woman abroad, painting a picture of Paris that is simultaneously grand and intimate.

Created and performed by Laura Sheppard and directed by Suzanne Stassevitch. Accompanied on piano by Dale Tsang.

This staged dramatic reading was originally developed for the exhibition, Seeing Gertrude Stein, featured at the Contemporary Jewish Museum. A companion book, Paris Portraits: Stories of Picasso, Matisse, Gertrude Stein, and Their Circle was published by Heyday (2011).

Presented by SFMOMA and Mechanics’ Institute