Modest Stein
American artist, 1871–1958, born in Russia
In 1892 Stein, along with Berkman and Goldman, was part of the anarchist propoganda campaign in support of the strike at Homestead Steel Works near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, as well as the assassination attempt on Henry Clay Frick, the company's main representative. Berkman's attack on Frick, while wounding him, was unsuccessful and Berkman was arrested. Stein, then still going by the name Aronstam, was tasked with finishing the job by blowing Frick up with dynamite. Yet, upon arriving in Pittsburgh, Stein saw newspaper reports naming "Aaron Stamm" as Berkman's conspirator. As a result, Stein ditched the explosives and left Pittsburgh. He hid out for a time in Detroit but was ultimately never captured or charged.
Stein subsequently turned away from anarchism and gained more success as an artist. He married Marcia Mishkin who, along with her brother, was an art photographer. Stein's greatest success as an illustrator came in the 1910s when he drew covers for periodicals such as Argosy, The Cavalier, All-Story Weekly, and People's Favorite Magazine. Stein continued to remain friends with, and eventually financially support, Goldman and Berkman until their deaths.
Person TypeIndividual
Terms
American painter, printmaker, sculptor, 1885–1973
American painter and printmaker, 1878–1965
American painter, photographer, 1883–1965
American painter, craftsperson, and muralist, 1887–1968
American painter and printmaker, 1869–1944
American painter, sculptor, 1901–1980
Jamaican-born American sculptor, 1869–1953
English painter, printmaker, and writer, 1821–1889
