Ella Winter Stewart (17 March 1898 – 5 August 1980) was an Australian-British journalist and activist, and champion of migrant farm workers. She was married to Hollywood screenwriter

Donald Ogden Stewart Donald Ogden Stewart (November 30, 1894 – August 2, 1980) was an American writer and screenwriter best known for his sophisticated golden age comedies and melodramas such as '' The Philadelphia Story'' (based on the play by Philip Barry), ' ...

Early life

Ella was born Eleanora Sophie Wertheimer in

Nürnberg Nuremberg (, ; ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the largest city in Franconia, the second-largest city in the German state of Bavaria, and its 544,414 (2023) inhabitants make it the 14th-largest city in Germany. ...

, Germany in 1898. Her parents were Freda Lust and Adolph Wertheimer of Nürnberg, who lived in London,

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

, Australia, and again in London, when they changed their name to Winter (around 1910). In 1924 she married

Lincoln Steffens Joseph Lincoln Steffens (April 6, 1866 – August 9, 1936) was an American investigative journalist and one of the leading muckrakers of the Progressive Era in the early 20th century. He launched a series of articles in '' McClure's'', called " ...

after which she then had a son and moved to the largest art colony on the Pacific Coast,

Carmel-by-the-Sea, California Carmel-by-the-Sea (), commonly known simply as Carmel, is a city in Monterey County, California, located on the Central Coast of California. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 3,220, down from 3,722 a ...

. Their children Peter, Rosa, and Eleanora (Ella) were born in Melbourne.

Fredric Wertham Fredric Wertham (; born Friedrich Ignatz Wertheimer, March 20, 1895 – November 18, 1981) was a German–American psychiatrist and author. Wertham had an early reputation as a progressive psychiatrist who treated poor black patients at his Lafa ...

was a relative. She studied at the

London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), established in 1895, is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. The school specialises in the social sciences. Founded ...

in England.

Career

Ella wrote on various topics. She and her family were also involved in controversial national campaigns, including the

Scottsboro Boys The Scottsboro Boys were nine African Americans, African American male teenagers accused of rape, raping two White American, white women in 1931. The landmark set of legal cases from this incident dealt with Racism in the United States, racism ...

Defense Fund which sought to free nine black men who were still incarcerated after the

Supreme Court of the United States The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all Federal tribunals in the United States, U.S. federal court cases, and over Stat ...

reversed their convictions for rape twice. She met the U.S. journalist and

muckraker The muckrakers were reform-minded journalists, writers, and photographers in the Progressive Era in the United States (1890s–1920s) who claimed to expose corruption and wrongdoing in established institutions, often through sensationalist publ ...

at the

Versailles Conference The Palace of Versailles ( ; ) is a former royal residence commissioned by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, Yvelines, Versailles, about west of Paris, in the Yvelines, Yvelines Department of Île-de-France, Île-de-France region in Franc ...

, where she was secretary to US Supreme Court Justice

Felix Frankfurter Felix Frankfurter (November 15, 1882 – February 22, 1965) was an American jurist who served as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1939 until 1962, advocating judicial restraint. Born in Vienna, Frankfurter im ...

. Winter and Steffens married in 1924. They moved to Italy, where their son, Peter, was born in San Remo. Two years later, they moved to the largest art colony on the Pacific Coast,

. Where their social circle included photographer

Edward Weston Edward Henry Weston (March 24, 1886 – January 1, 1958) was an American photographer. He has been called "one of the most innovative and influential American photographers" and "one of the masters of 20th century photography." Over the course ...

, poet

Robinson Jeffers John Robinson Jeffers (January 10, 1887 – January 20, 1962) was an American poet known for his work about the central California coast. Much of Jeffers' poetry was written in narrative and Epic poetry, epic form. However, he is also known f ...

, philosopher/mythologist

Joseph Campbell Joseph John Campbell (March 26, 1904 – October 30, 1987) was an American writer. He was a professor of literature at Sarah Lawrence College who worked in comparative mythology and comparative religion. His work covers many aspects of t ...

, nutritionist/author Adelle Davis, short story writer/poet

Clark Ashton Smith Clark Ashton Smith (January 13, 1893 – August 14, 1961) was an influential American writer of fantasy, horror, and science fiction stories and poetry, and an artist. He achieved early recognition in California (largely through the enthusiasm ...

, marine biologist/ecologist

Ed Ricketts Edward Flanders Robb Ricketts (May 14, 1897 – May 11, 1948) was an American marine biologist, ecologist, and philosopher. Renowned as the inspiration for the character Doc in John Steinbeck's 1945 novel '' Cannery Row'', Rickett's professional ...

, Nobel prize winner

Sinclair Lewis Harry Sinclair Lewis (February 7, 1885 – January 10, 1951) was an American novelist, short-story writer, and playwright. In 1930 Nobel Prize in Literature, 1930, he became the first author from the United States (and the first from the America ...

, and novelists

John Steinbeck John Ernst Steinbeck ( ; February 27, 1902 – December 20, 1968) was an American writer. He won the 1962 Nobel Prize in Literature "for his realistic and imaginative writings, combining as they do sympathetic humor and keen social percep ...

and

Henry Miller Henry Valentine Miller (December 26, 1891 – June 7, 1980) was an American novelist, short story writer and essayist. He broke with existing literary forms and developed a new type of semi-autobiographical novel that blended character study, so ...

. Ella loved publicity and when two Carmel reactionaries, artist William Silva and writer/editor Perry Newberry, tried to ban her local chapter of the communist-affiliated John Reed Club as well as her "socialist reading room", she made sure that the press as far away as Los Angeles was apprised of the violation of her civil rights. The Steffens's also joined controversial national campaigns, including the

Defense Fund which sought to free nine black men who were still incarcerated after the

twice reversed their convictions for rape.''The San Francisco News'', 24 February 1934, p. 11.''Carmel Pine Cone'', 23 February 1934, p. 5.''The Oakland Tribune'', 24 February 1934, p. 9. Ella divorced Steffens on 21 June 1929. Lincoln Steffens died on August 9, 1936, of a heart condition in Carmel.

''The Carmelite''

''The Carmelite,'' a weekly newspaper, was published in Carmel-by-the-Sea from 1928 to 1932. Its inception was fueled by the desire to provide an alternative to the town's conventional publication, the ''Carmel Pine Cone.'' Spearheaded by Ella Winter and Steffens in 1928, ''The Carmelite'' swiftly gained recognition for its unique perspective on art, establishing itself as one of California's most contentious periodicals. Within its pages, Ella fearlessly explored an array of subjects, captivating readers with her diverse writings. The Carmel Colony was sharply divided between conservative and liberal factions; the latter quickly coalesced around the Steffenses, who publicly debated the most controversial topics. The Irish poet and folklorist

Ella Young Ella Young (26 December 1867 – 23 July 1956) was an Irish poet and Celtic mythologist active in the Gaelic and Celtic Revival literary movement of the late 19th and early 20th century. Born in Ireland, Young was an author of poetry and c ...

, as well as the local press, described the relaxed social intercourse in this counterculture world. With contributions by numerous leftist literati, including Jeffers, Martin Flavin, Lewis and the Steffenses, along with theater, dance and art reviews by feminist artists such as Alberta Spratt, Jennie V. Cannon, and Roberta Balfour, ''The Carmelite'' became one of California’s most controversial publications.

Pauline Gibling Schindler Pauline Gibling Schindler (March 19, 1893 – May 4, 1977) was an American composer, educator, editor, and arts promoter, especially influential in supporting modern art in Southern California. Her husband was architect Rudolph Schindler. Early ...

, an educator, editor, and advocate of the arts, took on the role of editor at ''The Carmelite.'' During her tenure, tensions arose between her and fellow editor Steffens, leading to clashes behind the scenes. Its illustrations ranged from Weston’s enigmatic photos to the "anarchist" prints of James Blanding Sloan. The Steffenses also arranged for public exhibits of Europe’s most avant-garde art, including

Dada Dada () or Dadaism was an anti-establishment art movement that developed in 1915 in the context of the Great War and the earlier anti-art movement. Early centers for dadaism included Zürich and Berlin. Within a few years, the movement had s ...

Surrealism Surrealism is an art movement, art and cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists aimed to allow the unconscious mind to express itself, often resulting in the depiction of illogical or dreamlike s ...

and the paintings of

Paul Klee Paul Klee (; 18 December 1879 – 29 June 1940) was a Swiss-born German artist. His highly individual style was influenced by movements in art that included expressionism, cubism, and surrealism. Klee was a natural draftsman who experimented wi ...

. Ella wrote on various topics and once reported on the very unusual meeting between the popular Modernist artists John O’Shea and Frederick O’Brien. The Steffens' support of the art community extended to their own home where they entertained local painters and offered to display their work.

Publications

A close associate with the

Communist Party USA The Communist Party USA (CPUSA), officially the Communist Party of the United States of America, also referred to as the American Communist Party mainly during the 20th century, is a communist party in the United States. It was established ...

and strong supporter of the

Soviet Union under Stalin The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

, she wrote her first book, ''Red Virtue'', after visiting the Soviet Union in 1932.Ros Pesman. "'Red Virtue': Ella Winter and the Soviet Union." ''Political Tourists: Travellers from Australia to the Soviet Union in the 1920s–1940s.'' Sheila Fitzpatrick and Carolyn Rasmussen, eds. Melbourne University Press, 2008
pp.102–104.
She returned to the Soviet Union in 1944 and published ''I Saw the Russian People'' the following year. In her autobiography, ''And Not to Yield'' published in 1963, she affirmed her support for the Soviets while admitting that she had concealed negative aspects of the murderous regime.Ros Pesman. "'Red Virtue': Ella Winter and the Soviet Union." ''Political Tourists: Travellers from Australia to the Soviet Union in the 1920s–1940s.'' Sheila Fitzpatrick and Carolyn Rasmussen, eds. Melbourne University Press, 2008
pp.116.
At the time, she told a friend that she was not part of the "' God that failed' brigade and did not want her book to be of advantage to that group". In 1939, Ella married the screenwriter and humorist

and became stepmother to his sons, Donald and Ames. They lived in California and then in

Hampstead Hampstead () is an area in London, England, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, located mainly in the London Borough of Camden, with a small part in the London Borough of Barnet. It borders Highgate and Golders Green to the north, Belsiz ...

, London. In conversation with

Thomas Wolfe Thomas Clayton Wolfe (October 3, 1900 – September 15, 1938) was an American novelist and short story writer. He is known largely for his first novel, '' Look Homeward, Angel'' (1929), and for the short fiction that appeared during the last ye ...

, Winter once said: "Don't you know you can't go home again?" Wolfe then asked Winter for permission to use the phrase as the title of his book '' You Can't Go Home Again''.

Death

Ella died of a stroke on 5 August 1980 at her home in Hampstead, London. She was 82 years old.

Bibliography

*
Red Virtue: Human Relations in the New Russia
'. Harcourt, Brace & Company, New York 1933 * Ella Winter, Granville Hicks (eds.): ''The Letters of Lincoln Steffens''. Harcourt, Brace & Company, New York 1938 * ''I Saw the Russian People''. Little, Brown and Company, Boston 1945 * Ella Winter, Herbert Shapiro (eds.): ''The World of Lincoln Steffens''. 1962 * ''And Not to Yield: An Autobiography''. Harcourt, Brace & World, New York 1963

Notes

External links

* Donald Ogden Stewart and Ella Winter Papers. Yale Collection of American Literature, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library.
Lying for Truth: Münzenberg & the Comintern (Stephen Koch)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Winter, Ella 1898 births 1980 deaths People from Carmel-by-the-Sea, California American socialist feminists 20th-century British journalists German emigrants to the United Kingdom