Community Chat

[Oznell]

On February 17, 1913, for the very first time, innovative artists Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse and Marcel Duchamp were exhibited at the New York Armory to an incredulous public.  Can you imagine?

It's almost impossible to imagine the effect this new way of "seeing" things had on a new audience previously unexposed to these artists.  There's a short article at NPR that shows a striking photo of the original 1913 exhibition, and briefly and pungently assesses its revolutionary impact.

Due to unacceptably political sidebars I can't link the article, but googling something like "armory show that shocked America" will yield info.

That whole period between 1910 and 1920 in America is a fascinating repository of almost volcanic change--  very rich historically...