Floor plan

Style galleriesEarly modernism

Early modernism

October Morning, by Frank A. Bicknell, ca. 1910
Still Life, by Preston Dickinson, c. 1924
Artist: Ossip Perelma, Sitter: Frank Brett Noyes, Current owner: National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution
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.”
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.
On the Beach, No. 3, by Maurice Prendergast, c. 1915–18

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 Morning, by Frank A. Bicknell, ca. 1910
    October MorningFrank A. Bicknell, ca. 1910Courtesy of the Smithsonian American Art Museum
  2. Still Life, by Preston Dickinson, c. 1924
    Still LifePreston Dickinson, c. 1924Courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art
  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. 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. 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
  3. 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

Second room, south wall

  1. 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
  2. The Hills, by Preston Dickinson, ca. 1919
    The HillsPreston Dickinson, ca. 1919Courtesy of the Smithsonian American Art Museum
  3. In the Generalife, by John Singer Sargent, 1912
    In the GeneralifeJohn Singer Sargent, 1912Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
  4. A Florida Park, by Joseph C. Claghorn, before 1935
    A Florida ParkJoseph C. Claghorn, before 1935Courtesy of the Smithsonian American Art Museum

Second room, north wall

  1. Wrestlers in a Circus, by Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, 1909
    Wrestlers in a CircusErnst Ludwig Kirchner, 1909Courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art
  2. The Hill Field, by Arthur Wesley Dow, 1908-1910
    The Hill FieldArthur Wesley Dow, 1908-1910Courtesy of the Smithsonian American Art Museum
  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

Third room, north 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. 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
  3. Mäda Primavesi (1903–2000), by Gustav Klimt, 1912–13
    Mäda Primavesi (1903–2000)Gustav Klimt, 1912–13Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art