Ochre Editions
SearchSign inCart (0)

Early modernism

The first decades of the twentieth century, when artists broke with the academy.

68 works · hang 84 ·

The rooms are imagined; every work on their walls is real.

Walk this roomRehang this room

First room, north 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. 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
  3. Sketch for Mosaic, Wisconsin State Capital, "Justice", by Kenyon Cox, ca. 1912
    Sketch for Mosaic, Wisconsin State Capital, "Justice"Kenyon Cox, ca. 1912Courtesy of the Smithsonian American Art Museum
  4. Church Bells Ringing, Rainy Winter Night, by Charles Burchfield, December 1917
    Church Bells Ringing, Rainy Winter NightCharles Burchfield, December 1917Courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art

First room, south wall

  1. Old Woman, by Chaïm Soutine, c. 1923–24
    Old WomanChaïm Soutine, c. 1923–24Courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art
  2. This painting shows a large jug filled with orange flowers on a woven brown surface, with three small oranges placed in front of it. The bottom half of the jug is a brownish-red color, while the top part and handles are a light tan. The jug is centered, with flowers extending slightly to the sides. The flowers in the vase are surrounded by dark green leaves and buds. The wall behind the vase is a light gray color, and the vase casts a light shadow on it.
    Marigolds and TangerinesFélix Vallotton, 1924Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington
  3. Portrait of William E. Norton, by William Penhallow Henderson, 1901
    Portrait of William E. NortonWilliam Penhallow Henderson, 1901Courtesy of the Smithsonian American Art Museum
  4. 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

Second room, south wall

  1. My Day at Home, by William H. Howe, 1906
    My Day at HomeWilliam H. Howe, 1906Courtesy of the Smithsonian American Art Museum
  2. 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
  3. 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

Second room, north 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. 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
  3. Mary, by Henry Ossawa Tanner, ca. 1914
    MaryHenry Ossawa Tanner, ca. 1914Courtesy of the Smithsonian American Art Museum

Third room, north wall

  1. A work made of oil on canvas.
    Farm near DuivendrechtPiet Mondrian, c. 1916Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago
  2. A Florida Park, by Joseph C. Claghorn, before 1935
    A Florida ParkJoseph C. Claghorn, before 1935Courtesy of the Smithsonian American Art Museum