Image via Complex Original
"The Armory Show at 100: Modern Art and Revolution" is a new exhibition at the New-York Historical Society celebrating the 100th anniversary of the infamous 1913 Armory Show where painters like Marcel Duchamp, Henri Matisse, Paul Gauguin, Pablo Picasso, and Vincent van Gogh burst onto the international art scene.
While much of the show is made up of 100 masterpieces that were displayed during the original Armory Show, the New-York Historical Society offers something different than a museum exhibition—source documents and historical images that conjure up a moment in time. From shots of the bohemian lifestyle in Greenwich Village at the turn of the century to photographic documentation of the Women's suffrage movement and the Paterson Strike Pageant, the New-York Historical Society put the works of art in context. Here are Captivating Images of New York 100 Years Ago From "The Armory Show at 100: Modern Art and Revolution" at the New-York Historical Society.
"The Armory Show at 100: Modern Art and Revolution" is on view at the New-York Historical Society until Feb. 23, 2014.
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Skyscrapers
Building up and tearing down was, and is, a hallmark of New York City life. In 1913 the completed Woolworth Building stunned New York with its record-setting height and crowned the city as the capital of the new. Francis Picabia, the unofficial ambassador of the avant-garde to New York during the Armory Show, wrote, "New York is the cubist city, the futurist city. It expresses modern thought in its architecture, its life, its spirit."
Women's Suffrage
The movement to grant women the right to vote gained momentum in the early 20th century with growing demonstrations, including the first one to take place in New York in 1910. A woman's suffrage parade in Washington, DC on the eve of President Wilson's inauguration was attacked by a mob. Hundreds were injured, but no arrests were made. The 19th Amendment would be ratified seven years later. While claiming a place for women in public life was a radical act, suffragists often spoke as maternal defenders of American moral traditions against corrupt machine politicians.
Labor Activism
In addition to the Armory Show, the other great "show" of 1913 was the Paterson Strike Pageant, organized by Greenwich Village intellectuals such as Mabel Dodge, Margaret Sanger, John Reed, and others associated with the socialist magazine The Masses. Some 15,000 New Yorkers poured into Madison Square Garden on June 7 to watch over 1,000 workers from Paterson, New Jersey reenact the silk workers strike that had begun in January. The artist John Sloan was involved in both the Armory Show and radical politics, and he reportedly painted the backdrop for the Paterson Strike Pageant.
On March 25, 1911, a fire at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory resulted in the deaths of 146 people who could not escape the building because exit doors were locked to prevent theft and unauthorized breaks by workers. The tragedy galvanized organizations like the International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union to press for safer working conditions.
Greenwich Village Bohemia and Radicalism
Greenwich Village was the home of innumerable writers, artists, and activists during the time of the 1913 Armory Show. Art patron Mabel Dodge had an apartment at 23 5th Avenue where she regularly hosted salons with wide-ranging conversations on art and politics. Dodge first proposed the idea of a pageant in support of the strikers in Paterson, New Jersey. She also enthusiastically supported the Armory Show, calling it "the most important public event that has ever come off since the signing of the Declaration of Independence."
Grace Goodwin's Garret
Photographer Jesse Tarbox Beals worked in Greenwich Village during the height of its bohemian incarnation. These images depict Grace Goodwin's Garret, a BoHo coffee shop on West 4th Street. One is the owner playing guitar (see the hipster ironic note in background "This Place ain't Bohemain"), another depicts a spaghetti dinner with a bunch of free, fun-looking young people.
The Liberal Club
This is another photo by Beals that shows a group of intellectuals and activists headquartered on MacDougal Street, including such notables as Sherwood Anderson, Theodore Dreiser, Max Eastman, Emma Goldman, Sinclair Lewis, Jack London, Margaret Sanger, Upton Sinclair, and Lincoln Steffens.
Patchin Place
Patchin Place near 10th Street between Greenwich and 6th Avenue became popular with working writers and artists in the early 20th century seeking a little peaceful respite from the rest of Greenwich Village.
Modern Dance
People of all ages moved for pleasure in Greenwich Village, coming for the dance halls, cabarets, and restaurants. They embraced risque new popular dances, while professional dancers including Isadora Duncan explored the higher meanings of dance in fluid, inspired gestures that evoked ancient ritual traditions.
Elections
In 1912, New York and the nation were occupied with one of the most exciting presidential elections in history—a four-way battle in which Socialist Eugene V. Debs received six percent of votes. The central issue of the election was how to respond to the power of new industrial corporations, which Progressives, Socialists, and many other Americans saw as a threat to American democracy and individual opportunity.
