ABSTRACT
Arguably the most important event in the early history of modernism in the United States was the Armory Show, held in New York in 1913. Organized by a mixed group of more or less progressive artists, its aim was to set the best of American art alongside European developments. Featuring over 1,200 works, one-third of them European, the exhibition was pulled together in record time after a whirlwind tour around the art capitals of Europe by the organizing committee members, who relied on expatriate contacts to gain access to influential dealers, artists, and critics. The American selection, equally hasty, was eclectic and included a relatively small number of artists whose outlook could be described as modern.
