Floor plan

Style galleriesEarly modernism

Early modernism

October (cover illustration for Harper's Magazine), by William Clarke Rice, 1903
Mary, by Henry Ossawa Tanner, ca. 1914
Old Woman, by Chaïm Soutine, c. 1923–24
October Morning, by Frank A. Bicknell, ca. 1910
Calligraphic Interior, by H. Lyman Saÿen, ca. 1915
Artist: Marion H. Beckett, Sitter: Theresa Helburn, Current owner: National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution

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.

First room, north wall

  1. October (cover illustration for Harper's Magazine), by William Clarke Rice, 1903
    October (cover illustration for Harper's Magazine)William Clarke Rice, 1903Courtesy of the Smithsonian American Art Museum
  2. Mary, by Henry Ossawa Tanner, ca. 1914
    MaryHenry Ossawa Tanner, ca. 1914Courtesy of the Smithsonian American Art Museum
  3. Old Woman, by Chaïm Soutine, c. 1923–24
    Old WomanChaïm Soutine, c. 1923–24Courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art

First room, south wall

  1. October Morning, by Frank A. Bicknell, ca. 1910
    October MorningFrank A. Bicknell, ca. 1910Courtesy of the Smithsonian American Art Museum
  2. Calligraphic Interior, by H. Lyman Saÿen, ca. 1915
    Calligraphic InteriorH. Lyman Saÿen, ca. 1915Courtesy of the Smithsonian American Art Museum
  3. 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

Second room, south wall

  1. Eddyville, by Samuel Halpert, 1917
    EddyvilleSamuel Halpert, 1917Courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art
  2. A work made of oil on canvas.
    Farm near DuivendrechtPiet Mondrian, c. 1916Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago
  3. Hillside, by Edward Gay, 1908
    HillsideEdward Gay, 1908Courtesy of the Smithsonian American Art Museum

Second room, north wall

  1. A square white tile, rotated 90 degrees, crossed by black lines intersecting at 90-degree angles. A few of the shapes thus formed—some partial squares, some rectangles—are colored in a single shade of yellow, blue, black, or red.
    Lozenge Composition with Yellow, Black, Blue, Red, and GrayPiet Mondrian, 1921Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago
  2. Artist: Ossip Perelma, Sitter: Frank Brett Noyes, Current owner: National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution
    Frank Brett NoyesOssip Perelma, 1917Courtesy of the National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution
  3. Alfred Henry Maurer
    Woman in BlackAlfred Henry Maurer, (c. 1904)Courtesy of the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Smithsonian Institution

Third room, north wall

  1. In the Desert, by H. Siddons Mowbray, 1915-1925
    In the DesertH. Siddons Mowbray, 1915-1925Courtesy of the Smithsonian American Art Museum
  2. This print depicts a grayscale desert landscape with a prominent saguaro cactus to the left. In the background, rocky mountains are visible in the darkness. The sky shows a crescent moon and a bright star through an opening in the soft gray clouds. Sparse desert vegetation is faintly visible on the ground, and more cacti can be seen in the distance.
    New Moon and Evening StarGeorge Elbert Burr, c. 1932Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington

Third room, south wall

  1. 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
  2. The River, by Maxime Maufra, 1902
    The RiverMaxime Maufra, 1902Courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art