Thérèse Jelenko was born Theresa Ehrman in 1884. The daughter of Jennie Rosenthal Ehrman and Herman Ehrman, Thérèse grew up in San Francisco, where she nurtured her talent as a pianist. Thérèse's parents were friends with Michael and Sarah Stein (brother and sister-in-law of Gertrude Stein) and Thérèse taught piano to the Steins' son, Allan. When the Steins moved to Europe in 1903, they took Thérèse with them. She lived with the Stein family at 1 rue de Fleurus (down the street from Leo and Gertrude Stein, who lived at 27 rue de Fleurus). Sarah and Michael became important early collectors of modernist art. The Stein home in Paris was filled with paintings by artists like Matisse and Picasso that would rest firmly in the modernist canon in decades to come. Gertrude, for her part, built a career as one of the great modernist writers. In the midst of all this excitement, Thérèse established connections with Pablo Casals, Henri Matisse and others who travelled in the same circles as the Steins. Thérèse actually accompanied Casals on the piano at times and they remained in touch until the 1960s. Thérèse stayed in Europe through the First World War, studying music with Blanche Selva. She returned to the United States after the war, though she continued to travel back to Paris throughout her life. Thérèse's three husbands were Sigmund Bauer (b. 1870), Max Schukl (b. 1869), and Victor Jalenko. She had no children.
From the description of Thérèse Jelenko papers and photographs, 1899-1960. (University of California, Berkeley). WorldCat record id: 668119374
