Floor plan

Style galleriesEarly modernism

Early modernism

The image is a painting of a woman's nude upper body extending from her head down to her hips, depicted in a standing position with her head slightly tilted to one side. Her facial features are distinct with a strong brow, prominent nose, and full lips, and her long dark hair cascades down to her shoulders. The background features abstract brushstrokes in dark blues and browns, blending into the lighter brown tone of the canvas, enhancing the figure's prominence in the composition. The woman appears naturalistic, with no jewelry or other objects visible in the painting.
Shown from the lap up, a pale-skinned woman with an oval face and long neck sits facing us in this vertical painting. The portrait is created with areas of mottled colors outlined with black lines. Her body faces us, and she looks out with pale blue eyes, the irises almost white. Her thin eyebrows slope down the sides and her small, dark peach lips are closed. Golden-orange hair is piled atop her head and a few bangs fall onto her high forehead. Black oval earrings hang from her lobes. Her shoulders also slope unnaturally down. Her mint-green shirt has a scooped neckline and elbow-length sleeves, and it appears to be tucked into a brown skirt or pants. The background is honey orange in the top left quadrant, amber brown in the lower left, and a russet brown door with windows across the top fills the right half. The artist signed the top right corner, “modigliani.”
Artist: Ossip Perelma, Sitter: Frank Brett Noyes, Current owner: National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution
Mountain Landscape with Fir Trees, by Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, 1918/19
The Repast of the Lion, by Henri Rousseau, ca. 1907
The Sprout Lot, by J. Francis Murphy, 1915

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 image is a painting of a woman's nude upper body extending from her head down to her hips, depicted in a standing position with her head slightly tilted to one side. Her facial features are distinct with a strong brow, prominent nose, and full lips, and her long dark hair cascades down to her shoulders. The background features abstract brushstrokes in dark blues and browns, blending into the lighter brown tone of the canvas, enhancing the figure's prominence in the composition. The woman appears naturalistic, with no jewelry or other objects visible in the painting.
    NudeRoger de La Fresnaye, 1910Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington
  2. Shown from the lap up, a pale-skinned woman with an oval face and long neck sits facing us in this vertical painting. The portrait is created with areas of mottled colors outlined with black lines. Her body faces us, and she looks out with pale blue eyes, the irises almost white. Her thin eyebrows slope down the sides and her small, dark peach lips are closed. Golden-orange hair is piled atop her head and a few bangs fall onto her high forehead. Black oval earrings hang from her lobes. Her shoulders also slope unnaturally down. Her mint-green shirt has a scooped neckline and elbow-length sleeves, and it appears to be tucked into a brown skirt or pants. The background is honey orange in the top left quadrant, amber brown in the lower left, and a russet brown door with windows across the top fills the right half. The artist signed the top right corner, “modigliani.”
    Girl in a Green BlouseAmedeo Modigliani, 1917Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington
  3. 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

First room, 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. The Repast of the Lion, by Henri Rousseau, ca. 1907
    The Repast of the LionHenri Rousseau, ca. 1907Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
  3. The Sprout Lot, by J. Francis Murphy, 1915
    The Sprout LotJ. Francis Murphy, 1915Courtesy of the Smithsonian American Art Museum

Second room, south wall

  1. Mary, by Henry Ossawa Tanner, ca. 1914
    MaryHenry Ossawa Tanner, ca. 1914Courtesy of the Smithsonian American Art Museum
  2. On the Beach, No. 3, by Maurice Prendergast, c. 1915–18
    On the Beach, No. 3Maurice Prendergast, c. 1915–18Courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art
  3. In the Generalife, by John Singer Sargent, 1912
    In the GeneralifeJohn Singer Sargent, 1912Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Second room, north 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. Large painting, standing man blue turtleneck, sitting woman with white collar.
    Jacques and Berthe LipchitzAmedeo Modigliani, 1916Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago
  3. Artist: Philip Alexius de László, Sitter: Clara Margaret Cook Kellogg, Current owner: National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution
    Clara Cook KelloggPhilip Alexius de László, 1929Courtesy of the National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution
  4. The Bride, by Gari Melchers, ca. 1907
    The BrideGari Melchers, ca. 1907Courtesy of the Smithsonian American Art Museum

Third room, north wall

  1. Dancing Sailors, by Charles Demuth, 1917
    Dancing SailorsCharles Demuth, 1917Courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art
  2. Shown from the lap up, a person with peach-colored skin sits facing us as he looks down and to our left in this vertical, stylized, portrait painting. The person’s clothing and features are outlined with thin black lines, and areas are filled in with mottled, streaked color painted with visible strokes. The person has a round face with a double chin and a small red mouth. The eyes are painted as slate-blue slivers under thin brows, one of which is cocked. The man’s short black hair is parted to one side and combed across the top of his head. He wears a white cravat tied at his neck under a rust-red jacket or shirt. Two rounded, muted blue forms below suggest crossed knees. The man’s right elbow rests next to his body, and that hand is near his lap. The background is painted with pecan brown on the left third and gray-blue on the right two-thirds.
    Monsieur DeleuAmedeo Modigliani, 1916Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington
  3. A nude woman lying across a brown divan in front of a russet-red wall is loosely painted with areas of mottled color in this horizontal composition. The woman fills the wide canvas so her head is angled into the upper left corner, and her legs extend off the right edge of the composition below the knees. Her long, oval face rests back against the couch, and she looks at us with slitted, almond-shaped eyes under dark, shallowly arched brows. She has a long, straight nose, flushed cheeks, a double chin, and her pink lips are closed. Her breasts fall to each side so we only see the pink nipple closer to us. She has a rounded belly and a triangle of brown hair at her groin. Her arms rest alongside her body. The couch has a low, upholstered arms sweeping down the sides. Black lines in the red wall behind the couch suggest molding or cabinetry. The artist signed the painting in the upper right corner, “modigliani.”
    Nude on a DivanAmedeo Modigliani, 1918Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington