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Early modernism

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

68 works · hang 8752 ·

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

Walk this roomRehang this room

First 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. 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
  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

First room, south wall

  1. 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
  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. 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

Second room, south 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. Still Life, by Preston Dickinson, c. 1924
    Still LifePreston Dickinson, c. 1924Courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art
  3. THE TRIUMPH OF UNCLE SAM
    The Triumph of Uncle SamVictor Wilbour, 1917Courtesy of Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum

Second room, north wall

  1. In the Cascade Mountains, by Edward Bruce, 1931
    In the Cascade MountainsEdward Bruce, 1931Courtesy of the Smithsonian American Art Museum
  2. 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
  3. Artist: Marion H. Beckett, Sitter: Theresa Helburn, Current owner: National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution
    Theresa HelburnMarion H. Beckett, 1922Courtesy of the National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution

Third room, north 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. 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

Third room, south wall

  1. Self-Portrait, by Abbott Handerson Thayer, 1920
    Self-PortraitAbbott Handerson Thayer, 1920Courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art
  2. Hillside, by Edward Gay, 1908
    HillsideEdward Gay, 1908Courtesy of the Smithsonian American Art Museum