Frances Simpson Stevens
In her early 20s, Frances Simpson Stevens was the lone American at the center of the Futurist movement. Today, however, only one of her paintings has been preserved and few people know her name.
Stevens was born in Chicago, IL on March 5, 1894 into an old, prominent family. She studied at the Dana Hall School, a boarding school in Wellesley, Massachusetts, which traditionally prepared girls to attend Wellesley College; however, after graduation Stevens moved to New York to pursue art. At 18, Stevens started taking classes with the American artist Robert Henri.
While studying with Henri in Madrid, Stevens painted Roof Tops of Madrid. Confident and driven, Stevens submitted the work to the Armory Show in New York; it was accepted, and she exhibited alongside Marcel Duchamp. At the Show, Stevens met Mabel Dodge, an art curator, salon leader, and close friend of Mina Loy. Knowing Loy needed extra money, Dodge suggested Stevens rent a studio space from Loy in Italy. Taking in a young artist would provide Loy financial stability without jeopardizing status or reputation; she herself had studied for a year in Germany, mentored by the Baroness.
In 1913, Stevens moved in with Loy. The two became friends and pushed each other artistically. Stevens’s youthful energy inspired Loy to create new works of visual art and poetry. Together they were a striking pair, and attracted significant attention from men. Loy’s dark, mature aesthetic complemented Stevens’s blonde, girlish spirit. Stevens and Loy were intent, however, on defying the roles to which they were confined as women. Together they used art to grapple with issues surrounding gender.
In Italy, Stevens studied under the leader of the Italian Futurists, Filippo Tommaso Marinetti. In 1914, she showed eight pieces in Rome at the International Exhibition of Futurism. Her work received significant praise, and she stood out as the only North American in the exhibit. As her career progressed, Stevens became enthralled with the mechanical dynamism that defined Futurist art; she experimented with color and thick texture in her work, depicting new technologies moving abstractly. Though a majority of her work has been lost, Stevens’s influence on Futurism in Italy and Modernism in the United States remains.
At the beginning of World War I, Stevens returned to New York and became involved with American avant-garde movements. She continued to exhibit work and shared what she learned from the Futurists in Italy. Stevens’s only remaining work, Dynamic Velocity of Interborough Rapid Transit Power Station, has been in the Louise and Walter Arensberg collection since she painted it in 1915.
While volunteering with the American Red Cross during World War I, Stevens met Russian ambassador, Prince Dimitri Golitsyn. The two married in 1919, and moved to Siberia to oppose the Bolshevik government. Eventually, Stevens returned to the United States. She continued with art, but only showed her work in one, final show. Instead, Stevens found passion surrounded by horses, and opened a stable in 1925. Stevens went on to live a quiet life, never having children, and died in California at the age of 82.
Word Count: 511
Name: Frances Simpson Stevens
Date of Birth: March 5, 1894 (Burke and Sawelson-Gorse 106)
Place of Birth: Chicago, IL
Date of Death: July 18, 1976 (Burke and Sawelson-Gorse 115)
Place of Death: Santa Rosa, California
Country of origin, citizenship: United States
Gender: Female
Race: White
Kind of Artist/Cultural worker: Painter
Address in Florence or New York:
157 West 79th St. New York, NY (Naumann 105). Lived in Florence, Italy for a year with Mina Loy in 1914 before returning to New York at the beginning of World War I.
Dates & Places of Overlap with Loy: Lived with Mina Loy for a year in Italy (1913-1914)
Avant-garde movements the figure was associated with: Futurism and Dadaism
Brief summary of the figure’s Biographical/Historical significance:
Stevens is the American most associated with the Italian Futurists. Her art was featured at the famous Armory Show in 1913 and, though only one painting has been preserved, it influenced not only Futurism but also Modernism in the United States (Naumann 105). Upon her return to New York, Stevens continued to incorporate her love of motion and machinery—which she learned in Italy—in her work, introducing it to the Dadaists (Philadelphia Museum of Art).
Brief summary of the figure’s Relationship to Loy:
Steven’s rented a studio space from Loy in Italy as a young, developing artist interested in learning from and becoming involved with the Italian Futurists. Through Stevens, Loy met Marinetti and the community of Futurists in Italy. Together, Stevens and Loy studied the Futurist Manifesto and created their own, Futurist style (Burke and Sawelson-Gorse 107).
What was the nature of their overlap or connection? Was it social, literary, artistic? Were they involved in collaborative ventures (publications, exhibitions, performances, readings)?
Stevens and Loy’s relationship was mostly social, in that they lived together; however, the two female artists also explored Futurism together and learned from each other. There was a level of mentorship on both sides. Loy was older and took Stevens in as a tenant because she wanted to help a young artist starting out in a new country; however, it was Stevens who became interested in Futurism and introduced Loy to the community of Futurist artists in Italy which shaped both of their careers.
What other artists/writers did your figure come in contact with?
Robert Henri, Mabel Dodge, Filippo Tommaso Marinetti, Carlo Carra, Ardengo Soffici, Giuseppe Sprovieri, Alfred Stieglitz
Works Cited:
Berghaus, Günter. International Futurism in Arts and Literature. De Gruyter, 2000. European Cultures. EBSCOhost. Web.
Burke, Carolyn. Becoming Modern: The Life of Mina Loy. 1st ed., New York, Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 1996. Print.
Burke, Carolyn and Naomi Sawelson-Gorse. “In Search of Frances Simpson Stevens.” Art in America, 82.4 (1994): 106-115. Print.
“Frances Simpson Stevens 1911 (1894-1976).” Helen Temple Cooke Library, Dana Hall School, 16 Sept. 2011.
Naumann, Francis M. “A Lost American Futurist.” Art in America, 82.4 (1994): 104-113. Print.
Philadelphia Museum of Art. “Dynamic Velocity of Interborough Rapid Transit Power Station.” 2017. Web.
