Armory Show of 1913 - This was the first large exhibition of modern art in America. It was held in the 69th Regiment Armory building in New York City in 1913. Although the show was soundly criticized by the public and the press, it had a great impact on American artists who were influenced by the works of modern European artists. Its major organizers were American painters Walt Kuhn (1877-1949) and Arthur B. Davies (1862-1928), along with the painter-critic Walter Pach. Among the art exhibited were examples of Symbolism, Impressionism, Post-Impressionism, Neo-Impressionism, and Cubism, along with works by numerous American artists, including members of the Ten, the Eight, Marsden Hartley, Charles Sheeler, Among those artists whose work was seen in the US for the first time were Wassily Kandinsky (Russian, 1866-1944), Pablo Picasso (Spanish, 1881-1973), and Marcel Duchamp (French, 1887-1968).

The following works were among those exhibited in the Armory Show of 1913:

Pierre Puvis de Chavannes (French, 1824-1898), Beheading of St. John the Baptist (La Décollation de St. Jean Baptiste), 1869, oil on canvas, about 48 x 64 inches, Barber Institute of Fine Arts, Birmingham, England. See Symbolism.

Paul Cézanne (French, 1839-1906), View of the Domain Saint-Joseph (La Colline des pauvres), c. 1877, oil on canvas, 25 5/8 x 32 inches, Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY. The Metropolitan Museum of Art purchased this painting from the Parisian art dealer Ambroise Vollard during the Armory Show. See Post-Impressionism.

Odilon Redon (French, 1840-1916), Roger and Angelica, c. 1910, pastel on paper, 36 1/2 x 28 3/4 inches, Museum of Modern Art, NY. See Symbolism.

Vincent van Gogh (Dutch, 1853-1890), Olive Orchard, oil on canvas, 28 5/8 x 36 1/4 inches (72.7 x 92.1 cm), Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY.

Maurice Brazil Prendergast (American, born Newfoundland, 1859-1924), Crepuscule, c. 1912, oil on canvas, 20 1/2 x 28 inches, private collection. See the Eight.

Edvard Munch (Norwegian, 1863-1944), Madonna, 1895-1902, lithograph and woodcut, complete: 23 3/4 x 17 1/2 inches (60.5 x 44.5 cm), edition: c. 250, Museum of Modern Art, NY. This was exhibited in the influential Armory Show of 1913. See Expressionism, madonna, and Symbolism.

Henri Matisse (French, 1869-1954), The Young Sailor, II (Jeune Marin), 1906, oil on canvas, 39 3/8 x 31 7/8 inches, Gelman collection, Mexico City. See Fauvism.

Henri Matisse, The Blue Nude (Souvenir de Biskra), 1907, oil, 36 1/4 x 55 1/8 inches, Baltimore Museum of Art, MD.

Henri Matisse, The Red Madras Headress (Mme Matisse: Madras Rouge), summer 1907, oil on canvas, 39 1/8 x 31 3/4 inches (99.4 x 80.5 cm), Barnes Foundation, Merion, PA.

Henri Matisse, Red Studio (Panneau rouge), 1911, oil on canvas, 71 1/4 x 86 1/4 inches, Museum of Modern Art, NY.

Henri Matisse, Nasturtiums with the Painting "Dance II", 1912, oil on canvas, 75 1/2 x 45 3/8 inches (191.8 x 115.3 cm), Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY. See dance.

John Sloan (American , 1871-1951), Night Windows, 1910, etching, 5 1/4 x 7 inches. See the Eight.

Constantin Brancusi (French, born Romania, 1876-1957), The Muse, 1912, marble, 17 3/4 x 9 x 6 3/4 inches, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, NY.

Francis Picabia (French, 1879-1953), The Procession, Seville (La Procession, Seville), 1912, oil on canvas, 48 x 48 inches, private collection. This painting was exhibited in the Armory Show of 1913.

Pablo Picasso (born Pablo Ruiz-Picasso) (Spanish, 1881-1973), Head of a Woman (Fernande Olivier), 1909, bronze, height 16 1/4 inches. This was Picasso's first attempt to create three-dimensionally what he had developed two-dimensionally with cubism. As H. H. Arnason said, although it is therefore "historically of the greatest significance as the first step toward an entirely new kind of sculpture -- that of construction or assemblage — at this point Picasso had not yet realized the implications of cubism for sculpture."