The Story of the Armory Show

Visit our timeline at 1913 Armory Show: the Story in Primary Sources

The story of the 1913 Armory Show cannot be told without the Archives of American Art. The Archives holds the largest accumulation of primary source material, ranging from official records produced by the Association of American Painters and Sculptors to the firsthand—and often irreverent—accounts by visitors to the show. Since their discovery in the middle of the last century, these resources have enriched our understanding of the Armory Show’s indelible impact on American art.

The story is far from over. New archival discoveries, some as recent as 2012, continue to propel contemporary inquiry into the nature and legacy of the Armory Show. Just as the organizers anticipated, the Armory Show will likely sustain our curiosity for the next 100 years.