At the Dawn of a New Age: Early Twentieth-Century American Modernism

May 7, 2022–Feb 26, 2023

A figure with a walking stick makes their way up a mountainside filled with vibrant greens, blues, yellows, and reds.
A figure with a walking stick makes their way up a mountainside filled with vibrant greens, blues, yellows, and reds.

Albert Bloch, Mountain, 1916. Oil on cardboard, 25 1/8 × 31 3/4 in. (63.8 × 80.6 cm) overall. Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; Blanche A. Haberman Bequest 69.40

At the Dawn of a New Age: Early Twentieth-Century American Modernism showcases art produced between 1900 and 1930 by well-known American modernists and their now largely forgotten, but equally groundbreaking peers. Drawn primarily from the Whitney’s permanent collection, it provides new perspectives on the myriad ways American artists used nonrepresentational styles developed in Europe to express their subjective responses to the realities of the modern age.

America’s early modernists came of age during a time when the country’s predominant mood was one of youthful confidence. Racial violence and social and economic injustices existed, but so too did insurgency and social reform. American technological and engineering ingenuity had made the country the world’s largest industrial power at the same time that political Progressivism and cultural shifts such as women’s suffrage had upended bourgeois codes of respectability. The combination gave rise to an excitement about an era that critic Walter Lippmann characterized as “bursting with new ideas, new plans, and new hopes.”

Against this backdrop, large numbers of American artists embraced the new over the traditional and fixed by rejecting realistic depictions of the world in favor of art that prioritized emotional experience and harmonious design. The results were largely ignored by the Whitney Museum, whose loyalty was to the urban realists who formed the core of the Whitney Studio Club, out of which the Museum had grown. A handful of non-representational works were acquired when the museum was founded in 1930 and more were added in subsequent decades, but it was not until the mid-1970s that the museum vigorously began to acquire vanguard art made between 1900 and 1930. While extensive, these acquisitions largely excluded work by women and artists of color. The Whitney had already begun rectifying these biases, but in anticipation of the opening of At the Dawn, it added more works by these artists to the collection. The result is an exhibition that recasts the story of American art by celebrating the mood of optimistic excitement with which American artists embraced modern styles and illuminates the complexity and diversity that are at the heart of the American experience.

This exhibition is organized by Barbara Haskell, Curator.

Generous support for At the Dawn of a New Age: Early Twentieth-Century American Modernism is provided by the Barbara Haskell American Fellows Legacy Fund.

Significant support is provided by Amy and David Abrams; Laurie M. Tisch; and public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council.

Additional support is provided by Alturas Foundation, Cheryl and Blair Effron, Bernard Goldberg, the Judy and Stanley Katz Family Foundation, Michele Mirman, Garrett Moran and Mary Penniman Moran, Ted and Mary Jo Shen, Marica and Jan Vilcek, and Robin and Marc Wolpow.

Artworks

A painting featuring abstract and cubist elements with a central figure wearing a bowler hat obscured by colorful shapes and lines. The background consists of blocks of color, and the date "1917" with the signature "Benn" is visible in the bottom right corner.

1

Ben Benn

A vibrant expressionist painting depicting a mountainous landscape with a figure in the foreground. The scene is characterized by bold, swirling colors and dynamic brushstrokes, creating a sense of movement and energy. Snow-capped peaks rise in the background, while colorful, undulating hills and valleys dominate the foreground. A small village with a church steeple is nestled among the hills on the right.

2

Albert Bloch

A vibrant expressionist painting depicting a stylized landscape with bold, geometric shapes. A river flows through the center, flanked by rolling green hills and a variety of colorful, angular houses. The sky is a dynamic pattern of blue and white, and a large red road or structure dominates the right side of the composition. The artist's signature is visible in the lower left corner.

3

Oscar Bluemner

Abstract painting featuring a collage of geometric shapes in various colors such as blue, pink, purple, and orange, with a prominent white vertical line dividing the composition. Some shapes resemble everyday objects like a cup with a straw.

4

Patrick Henry Bruce

A vibrant abstract painting featuring a complex arrangement of shapes and colors, with a prominent circular form in the center that resembles an eye or a target, surrounded by swirling patterns and fragmented objects in a Cubist style.

5

E.E. Cummings

An abstract painting featuring a dynamic array of geometric shapes and fragmented forms in shades of brown, tan, and black with hints of green and white, evoking a sense of movement and chaos.

6

Manierre Dawson

A sepia photography with a short vase and two white flowers beside it

7

Taizo Kato

Many geometric shapes with smooth and round edges and a human-like figure next to a boat.

8

Blanche Lazzell

A black and white print of a seated figure on a raised platform interacting with an approaching figure on the steps below.

9

Aaron Douglas

A vibrant abstract painting featuring a dynamic composition of overlapping and intersecting shapes and planes in a variety of colors including shades of blue, orange, red, and yellow, with subtle textural details suggesting depth and movement.

10

Stanton Macdonald-Wright

A vibrant expressionist painting depicting a group of nude figures in various poses by a lakeside, with a colorful landscape of mountains and a rainbow in the background, and a sailboat on the water. The brushwork is loose and the colors are bold, with an emphasis on reds, blues, and greens.

11

Carl Newman

An abstract and close-up view of yellow, green, white, and red plants.

12

Arthur Dove

An abstract black shape merged with an abstract white shape on a tan background.

13

Isamu Noguchi

A print of a snowy peak and lake basin below.

14

Chiura Obata

Large swatches of paint make up a colorful, slightly abstracted street with figures and telephone poles in the foreground.

15

Yun Gee

Organic pink, purple, and orange shapes undulating out from a blue center in the lower left.

16

Georgia O’Keeffe

Abstract painting with blue background, greenish shapes resembling hills, and a glowing white balloon-like form.

17

Agnes Pelton

Sketchy color blocks resembling flags and badges hectically cover the canvas.

18

Marsden Hartley

A cherry wood bust of a male head with closed eyes and upturned lips.

19

Nancy Prophet

Abstract shapes with round, smooth outlines and some colors making the glowing effect

20

Henrietta Shore

Eight Tarot cards illustrated with human figures and natural elements like the sun, plants and sea wave.

21

Pamela Colman Smith

Trees with humans underneath them.

22

Marguerite Zorach

Artists

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Abstract painting with blue background, greenish shapes resembling hills, and a glowing white balloon-like form.
Abstract painting with blue background, greenish shapes resembling hills, and a glowing white balloon-like form.

Agnes Pelton, Sea Change, 1931. Oil on canvas, overall: 20 1/8 × 28 3/8 in. (51.1 × 72.1 cm). Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; gift of Lois and Irvin Cohen 99.64

Learn more about selected works from artists and curators.

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Explore works from this exhibition
in the Whitney's collection

View 86 works

In the News

"We gain insight into the trailblazing careers of artists such as Henrietta Shore, Charles Duncan, Yun Gee, Manierre Dawson, Blanche Lazzell, Ben Benn, Isami Doi, and Albert Bloch, who have been left out of the leading narrative."—Forbes

"…una exposición que reformula la historia del arte estadounidense al recordar y celebrar el entusiasmo con el que los artistas de aquella época indagaron y adoptaron estilos modernos."—National Geographic Español

"…the show is a riot of colors, moods and styles, giving a sense of the heady experimentation at work as artists hewed out a distinctively American modernism."—The Guardian

"…Pamela Colman Smith has been included in a new exhibition at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York highlighting many underappreciated artists of early 20th-century American modernism in addition to famous names like Georgia O'Keeffe and Louise Nevelson."—CNN Style

"You are there, immersed in peaks and valleys of an effervescent day and age."—New Yorker

"…this show looks at some of the artistic roots of the contemporary moment through more than 60 works made from 1900 to 1930."—New York Times

-…the exhibition is an opportunity to reassess and expand not only the Whitney’s collection but its take on a pivotal era of American art."—Wall Street Journal

"Dominating the show as we round out our tour is the realization of the innovative spirit and ingenuity that pervaded America."—Art & Antiques Magazine

On the Hour

A 30-second online art project:
Maya Man, A Realistic Day In My Life Living In New York City

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Learn more at whitney.org/artport

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