The Armory Show of 1913 was an international exhibition of painting and sculpture displayed at the 69th Regiment Armory in New York.
It's official title was "The International Exhibition of Modern Art". Certainly the most influential show of avant garde paintings ever shown in America. Walt Kuhn and Arthur B. Davies were the organizers of the show with and for the Association of American Painters and Sculptors.
The show included works by:
Works of Pablo Picasso, Édouard Manet, Claude Monet, Paul Gaugin, Vincent Van Gogh and Henri Matisse were seen for the first time in this country and caused amazing controversy. A piece that drew much attention was "Nude Descending a Staircase" by Marcel Duchamp. After two weeks of a sparse audience which mainly included the press and critics, the show began drawing huge crowds to "the most controversial popular event in the history of American Art". In the end, the Armory Show drew over one-hundred thousand spectators.
"Our land of opportunity was thrown wide open to foreign art, unrestricted and triumphant; more than ever before, our great country had become a colony; more than ever before, we had become provincials". Being exposed to this "modern" art all at once was quite a shock for the American public since they had not seen the progression which led to these new forms. The show opened American artists to the innovations of the European artist, as well as introduced the American public to a whole new direction and purpose in art -- one divorced from the popular preferences of the masses. Not all opinions were gleaming, however, as many critics viewed the European art as merely a fad. Others saw this new exposure to European art as an alliance with an unwanted competitor. As evident by these differing opinions, the Armory Show, if anything, aroused a great deal of commotion in the art world. "The real contribution of the Armory Show seems less to have been its immediate impact on the styles of American artists than its awakening America to the new forces of European creativity"
The show was the first real exposure that the American public got to Modern Art. It caused a great stir. One of the people who attended this show was Duncan Phillips who subsequently amassed the Phillips Collection. At the time he described this show as "stupefying in its vulgarity." Only later to change heart and become an avid collector of the very same painters.
Source:
http://www.kgny.com/biographies/armoryshow1913.html
Last Updated 01.29.03