Floor plan

Style galleriesEarly modernism

Early modernism

The Hills, by Preston Dickinson, ca. 1919
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.”
Rhine at the Lurlei, by George Elbert Burr, 1900
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.
Two Gulls and Cliffs, by Louis M. Eilshemius, ca. 1913-1921
Study for mosaic in the Wisconsin State Capital "Government and Liberty", by Kenyon Cox, ca. 1912
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.

First room, north wall

  1. The Hills, by Preston Dickinson, ca. 1919
    The HillsPreston Dickinson, ca. 1919Courtesy of the Smithsonian American Art Museum
  2. 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
  3. Rhine at the Lurlei, by George Elbert Burr, 1900
    Rhine at the LurleiGeorge Elbert Burr, 1900Courtesy of the Smithsonian American Art Museum
  4. 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

First room, south wall

  1. Two Gulls and Cliffs, by Louis M. Eilshemius, ca. 1913-1921
    Two Gulls and CliffsLouis M. Eilshemius, ca. 1913-1921Courtesy of the Smithsonian American Art Museum
  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. A Florida Park, by Joseph C. Claghorn, before 1935
    A Florida ParkJoseph C. Claghorn, before 1935Courtesy of the Smithsonian American Art Museum

Second room, 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. Dark twilight scene of a a brightly illuminated white cottage along the shore of an expansive body of water, seen through a thick of silhouetted trees.
    Fisherman's CottageHarald Oscar Sohlberg, 1906Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago
  3. This is a painting showing two people in nature. The person on the left appears to be running towards the right, with one leg in the air and their arms outstretched. They have tan, golden-toned skin, blond hair, and golden fabric draped loosely around them, billowing backward as they run. On the right is a pale person standing upright in a tree, their arms outstretched. They appear intertwined with the tree, with their feet nestled in the light brown trunk and their head and hands covered in olive-green leaves. The background features indistinct brown shapes against a clear blue sky.
    Apollo and DaphneJohn Singer Sargent, c. 1916/1919Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington

Second 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. Dancing Sailors, by Charles Demuth, 1917
    Dancing SailorsCharles Demuth, 1917Courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art
  3. Study in Rhythm: Red and Gold, by Joseph Schillinger, ca. 1934
    Study in Rhythm: Red and GoldJoseph Schillinger, ca. 1934Courtesy of the Smithsonian American Art Museum
  4. THE TRIUMPH OF UNCLE SAM
    The Triumph of Uncle SamVictor Wilbour, 1917Courtesy of Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum

Third room, north wall

  1. 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
  2. A work made of oil on canvas.
    Farm near DuivendrechtPiet Mondrian, c. 1916Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago