Floor plan

Style galleriesEarly modernism

Early modernism

Shown from the knees up, a woman sits partially covered by a black cloth as she holds one forearm across her bare breasts in this vertical painting. The woman has pale, yellow-tinged skin and long, copper-red hair and bangs. Her body faces us, but she turns her head to look off to our right with large blue, wide-set eyes. Her cheeks are flushed, and her full, dark pink lips are closed. A strand of gradually larger amber-yellow beads hangs around her neck, and she wears a gold-colored bracelet on the arm braced across her chest, her left arm, to our right. Glimpses of pale pink nipples are visible. The voluminous black cloth drapes down over one shoulder and across her hips. She wears a ring on the other hand, which emerges from the cloth to rest on that knee. Piles of garnet red, peridot green, and forest green are piled up to chest height behind her, and the background is nickel gray around her body and darkens to black around the top and side edges. The scene is loosely painted, especially in the fabric and background. The artist signed the canvas in the lower left corner, “Geo. Bellows E.S.B.”
Vibrantly colored geometric painting of a central white and blue waterfall with birds visible through it. A stylized red jungle cat and black wild boar drink at bottom right. Red water wheel at left, angular blue and white cityscape top at left, tree top at right.
Admiral Sir David Beatty, Lord Beatty, by Cecilia Beaux, ca. 1920
Mountain Landscape with Fir Trees, by Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, 1918/19
Study for mosaic in the Wisconsin State Capital "Government and Liberty", by Kenyon Cox, ca. 1912
October Morning, by Frank A. Bicknell, ca. 1910
A Florida Park, by Joseph C. Claghorn, before 1935

The works in this room are listed below.

Works in this room

The first decades of the twentieth century, when artists broke with the academy.

Section 1, north wall

  1. Shown from the knees up, a woman sits partially covered by a black cloth as she holds one forearm across her bare breasts in this vertical painting. The woman has pale, yellow-tinged skin and long, copper-red hair and bangs. Her body faces us, but she turns her head to look off to our right with large blue, wide-set eyes. Her cheeks are flushed, and her full, dark pink lips are closed. A strand of gradually larger amber-yellow beads hangs around her neck, and she wears a gold-colored bracelet on the arm braced across her chest, her left arm, to our right. Glimpses of pale pink nipples are visible. The voluminous black cloth drapes down over one shoulder and across her hips. She wears a ring on the other hand, which emerges from the cloth to rest on that knee. Piles of garnet red, peridot green, and forest green are piled up to chest height behind her, and the background is nickel gray around her body and darkens to black around the top and side edges. The scene is loosely painted, especially in the fabric and background. The artist signed the canvas in the lower left corner, “Geo. Bellows E.S.B.”
    Nude with Red HairGeorge Bellows, 1920Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington
  2. Vibrantly colored geometric painting of a central white and blue waterfall with birds visible through it. A stylized red jungle cat and black wild boar drink at bottom right. Red water wheel at left, angular blue and white cityscape top at left, tree top at right.
    The Bewitched MillFranz Marc, 1913Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago
  3. Admiral Sir David Beatty, Lord Beatty, by Cecilia Beaux, ca. 1920
    Admiral Sir David Beatty, Lord BeattyCecilia Beaux, ca. 1920Courtesy of the Smithsonian American Art Museum

Section 1, south wall

  1. Mountain Landscape with Fir Trees, by Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, 1918/19
    Mountain Landscape with Fir TreesErnst Ludwig Kirchner, 1918/19Courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art
  2. Study for mosaic in the Wisconsin State Capital "Government and Liberty", by Kenyon Cox, ca. 1912
    Study for mosaic in the Wisconsin State Capital "Government and Liberty"Kenyon Cox, ca. 1912Courtesy of the Smithsonian American Art Museum
  3. October Morning, by Frank A. Bicknell, ca. 1910
    October MorningFrank A. Bicknell, ca. 1910Courtesy of the Smithsonian American Art Museum
  4. A Florida Park, by Joseph C. Claghorn, before 1935
    A Florida ParkJoseph C. Claghorn, before 1935Courtesy of the Smithsonian American Art Museum

Section 2, south wall

  1. The Repast of the Lion, by Henri Rousseau, ca. 1907
    The Repast of the LionHenri Rousseau, ca. 1907Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
  2. The image shows a landscape drawing with buildings, trees, and a winding path or water feature. The drawing is done in black charcoal on brownish background paper, creating a monochromatic color palette.
    Footpaths and Pavilion in the Dresden Grosser GartenErnst Ludwig Kirchner, c. 1909Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington
  3. Vibrant yellow, red, blue, and green painting of landscape with trees and mountains.
    Landscape with Two PoplarsVasily Kandinsky, 1912Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago

Section 2, north wall

  1. Mäda Primavesi (1903–2000), by Gustav Klimt, 1912–13
    Mäda Primavesi (1903–2000)Gustav Klimt, 1912–13Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
  2. In the Desert, by H. Siddons Mowbray, 1915-1925
    In the DesertH. Siddons Mowbray, 1915-1925Courtesy of the Smithsonian American Art Museum
  3. The Sprout Lot, by J. Francis Murphy, 1915
    The Sprout LotJ. Francis Murphy, 1915Courtesy of the Smithsonian American Art Museum

Section 3, north wall

  1. This painting depicts a group of men and women created by a collection of angular, geometric shapes with flat planes and blocks of color. One person is standing, and they appear to be a bare-chested man with tan skin and short, dark hair, who is wearing red shorts. He has his hand on his hip and looks off to the right. At his feet appear to be several seated people, although they are only partially visible. Three women with pale skin seem to be facing away from us; we can see their legs, arms, and torsos, although these don't all fit together. The woman on the left has blonde hair, the woman on the right has brown hair, and the woman between them has short black hair. None of their faces are visible. In the middle of this group, at the center of the painting, we see the face and hand of another person who is looking to the left. This person has light brown skin, and we can't see the rest of their body. Surrounding elements include a blue sky with abstract cloud forms, an angular tree on the left, and patches of brown, white, and green on the ground, with one red flower. A tan rectangle under a red triangle on the right edge suggests a building.
    The BathersRoger de La Fresnaye, 1912Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington
  2. Artist: Marion H. Beckett, Sitter: Theresa Helburn, Current owner: National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution
    Theresa HelburnMarion H. Beckett, 1922Courtesy of the National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution
  3. Head of a Young Girl, by Lucia Fairchild Fuller, ca. 1900
    Head of a Young GirlLucia Fairchild Fuller, ca. 1900Courtesy of the Smithsonian American Art Museum