Debating American Modernism: Stieglitz, Duchamp, and the New York Avant-Garde

January 24, 2003 - April 19, 2003

A rich dialogue between circles of artists associated with American photographer Alfred Stieglitz (1864-1946) and French artist Marcel Duchamp (1897-1968) spurred the development of modern art in the United States between 1915 and 1929.

During World War I many European artists, including Duchamp, left their homelands bound for New York, a metropolis thriving with industrial and technological advancement. Skyscrapers, telephones, and automobiles were altering the course of daily life at a dizzying speed while equally significant changes were transforming the social arena, particularly in the realm of sexual politics. Sigmund Freud's and Havelock Ellis's theories of sexuality garnered widespread interest during these years, as did the subject of equality between the sexes and the struggle for women's suffrage. The lively debate between the artists associated with Stieglitz and Duchamp ensued against this backdrop of sweeping societal and cultural change.

This exhibition demonstrated the significance of this debate and how it influenced artists such as Marsden Hartley, John Marin, Max Weber, Georgia O'Keeffe, Paul Strand, Francis Picabia, Man Ray, Joseph Stella, Beatrice Wood, Marius de Zayas, Stuart Davis, Charles Demuth, Charles Sheeler, and John Storrs.