Floor plan

Style galleriesEarly modernism

Early modernism

The Bride, by Gari Melchers, ca. 1907
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.”
Dancing Sailors, by Charles Demuth, 1917
THE TRIUMPH OF UNCLE SAM
Hooded Warblers, study for book Concealing Coloration in the Animal Kingdom, by Gladys Thayer, ca. 1900-1909
On the Beach, No. 3, by Maurice Prendergast, c. 1915–18
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 Bride, by Gari Melchers, ca. 1907
    The BrideGari Melchers, ca. 1907Courtesy of the Smithsonian American Art Museum
  2. 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
  3. Dancing Sailors, by Charles Demuth, 1917
    Dancing SailorsCharles Demuth, 1917Courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art
  4. THE TRIUMPH OF UNCLE SAM
    The Triumph of Uncle SamVictor Wilbour, 1917Courtesy of Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum

First room, south wall

  1. Hooded Warblers, study for book Concealing Coloration in the Animal Kingdom, by Gladys Thayer, ca. 1900-1909
    Hooded Warblers, study for book Concealing Coloration in the Animal KingdomGladys Thayer, ca. 1900-1909Courtesy 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. 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. Mäda Primavesi (1903–2000), by Gustav Klimt, 1912–13
    Mäda Primavesi (1903–2000)Gustav Klimt, 1912–13Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
  2. 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
  3. A Florida Park, by Joseph C. Claghorn, before 1935
    A Florida ParkJoseph C. Claghorn, before 1935Courtesy of the Smithsonian American Art Museum
  4. Watercolor no. 31, Landscape with Clouds, by Allen Tucker, ca. 1930
    Watercolor no. 31, Landscape with CloudsAllen Tucker, ca. 1930Courtesy of the Smithsonian American Art Museum

Second room, north wall

  1. Hillside, by Edward Gay, 1908
    HillsideEdward Gay, 1908Courtesy of the Smithsonian American Art Museum
  2. 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
  3. Church, Rancho de Taos, by Selden Connor Gile, 1931
    Church, Rancho de TaosSelden Connor Gile, 1931Courtesy of the Smithsonian American Art Museum

Third room, north wall

  1. Child Reading, by H. Lyman Saÿen, 1915-1918
    Child ReadingH. Lyman Saÿen, 1915-1918Courtesy of the Smithsonian American Art Museum
  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