Gertrude Stein (American, 1874 - 1946) was a novelist, poet, playwright and art collector who left the United States for France in 1903 and made Paris her home for the rest of her life. In her Paris apartment she hosted a salon which attracted many of the leading figures of the avant-garde, and her art collection contained masterpieces by Matisse, Picasso, and Cézanne, among others. In 1933, she published The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas, a memoir which takes the voice of her life-partner Alice Toklas, elevating her status to that of an international celebrity. As a Jew living in Occupied France, Stein engaged in controversial activity to keep herself and her valuable art collection safe from harm, going as far as praising the Vichy regime.