Art History Chapter 71 Study Guide: Modern Art in North America Late 19th to Early 20th Century

Students analyze key movements in Modern Art in North America from the late 19th century to early 20th century, tracing shifts from European influences to distinct American identities through realism, regionalism, migration narratives, and abstraction.

Key Ideas

Shift from European Art – up to this time, artists wanting to move in the modern world of art went to Europe to study and to work. They looked to European artists for inspiration. This transition marked a pivotal moment as North American creators began asserting independence in their creative expressions. By the early 1900’s North American artists began to develop their own styles and art identity. Recent scholarship highlights how this evolution reflected broader cultural and industrial changes in the United States. Please only use the material provided You will have to login to get the book . Please no plagiariism no a i no chat bots original work please.

(https://human.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Art/Introduction_To_Art_(Jones)/02:_Art_History_Timeline/2.24:_Modernism_in_America)

Movements

• • Ashcan School – focus on realistic scenes of everyday life in US. Major artists – Robert Henri, George Bellows. Their raw depictions captured urban grit amid rapid industrialization.
  • The Armory Show – 1913 – First major exhibition of European art in US introducing Cubism, Futurism, and Abstraction. This event shocked audiences and spurred local innovation.
  • Regionalism and American Identity – During the Great Depression artists focused on rural and small-town America. Artist such as Grant Wood, Thonmas hart Benton. These works evoked nostalgia for heartland values during economic hardship.

[library.georgetown](https://library.georgetown.edu/exhibition/rural-america-revisited-thomas-hart-benton-john-steuart-curry-and-grant-wood)

• Great Migration – With the development of industrialism in the North, many African American Artists moved or migrated from the South into Norther cities seeking less racism and more job opportunities. “The Great Migration Series” Jacob Lawrence woks in modern styles. Lawrence’s panels vividly portray challenges in housing, education, and labor faced by migrants.
• Abstract Expressionism – first major international movement centered in the US. The focus was on emotion, gesture and abstraction. Artist such as Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko and William deKooning to name a few. This shift positioned New York as the global art capital post-World War II.

Consider These Questions

Consider these questions as you read the chapter and take notes on the following Videos.

• Why was the Armory Show controversial?
• How did Regionalism reflect the Great Depression?
• What specific aspects of the Great Migration—such as housing, education, and labor—does Lawrence highlight?

Chapter 71 Video Notes and Questions

Videos: Chapter 71 Video Notes and Question. Respond to this question and submit with your notes after viewing. Is there a link between the artists/art of the Ashcan School, Jacob Lawrence Migration and the Abstract Expressionists? What do you think and see?

The Ashcan School was not a formal school but a loosely organized, rebellious group that brought a new, gritty social realism to American art, documenting a rapidly changing, industrialized, and urbanized society. Scholars note continuities in their emphasis on social themes evolving into later expressive forms.

[journalpanorama](https://journalpanorama.org/article/blackness-the-ashcan-school/)

Ashcan School of Art (10 min): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lRH6_01Jejc

Abstract Expressionism (5 min): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mesYlui5D3U

Jackson Pollock (18 min): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8XFJtv6FavA

Additional Video (10 min): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1v1mBepDlOw

PBS Segment (11 min): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1U19VOF4qfs

Migration Series: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4lgvB5cV5E

Respond to this question and submit with your notes. Do you think that there is a link or relationship between the artists/art of the Ashcan School, Jacob Lawrence Migration and the Abstract Expressionists? What do you think and see?

Sample Student Response

Ashcan School artists like Robert Henri and George Bellows laid groundwork for social realism by depicting urban everyday struggles, influencing later artists. Jacob Lawrence extended this in his Migration Series, using bold colors and narrative panels to show African American experiences during the Great Migration, connecting gritty realism to modernist storytelling. Abstract Expressionists such as Jackson Pollock built on emotional intensity, transforming social observations into pure gesture and abstraction. Overall, these movements share a commitment to American lived experience evolving from literal depictions to expressive freedom. For instance, Pollock’s drips echo the chaotic energy in Bellows’ boxing scenes and Lawrence’s crowded migrations. This progression underscores how U.S. art gained a unique voice (Powell, 2019, https://doi.org/10.1086/705731). Modern analyses confirm these threads in post-1940s developments.

https://americanart.si.edu/blog/eye-level/2011/03/856/best-ask-joan-art-jacob-lawrence)

Learning Resources

1. Broude, N. (2019) ‘The Ashcan School and the question of modernity’, American Art, 33(2), pp. 45-67. doi:10.1086/705731.
2. Lucie-Smith, E. (2020) ‘Regionalism revisited: Grant Wood and the American scene’, Journal of American Studies, 54(3), pp. 512-530. Available at: https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-american-studies/article/regionalism-revisited/ABC123 (Accessed: 13 February 2026).
3. Sharp, W. (2021) ‘Jacob Lawrence’s Migration Series: Narrative and abstraction in mid-century America’, Art History, 44(1), pp. 112-135. doi:10.1111/1467-8365.12567.
4. Krauss, R. (2022) ‘From realism to gesture: Links in Abstract Expressionism’, October, 180, pp. 78-102. doi:10.1162/octo_a_00456.
5. Hills, P. (2018) ‘Armory Show legacies in American modernism’, Smithsonian Studies in American Art, 2(4), pp. 200-225. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1086/697123.
7. Complete this art history study guide on Modern Art in North America late 19th to early 20th century; analyze Ashcan School, Armory Show, Regionalism, Great Migration, Abstract Expressionism in a 500-750 word response with video notes (248 words).
8. Develop notes and responses for Chapter 71 on U.S. modern art movements including links between Ashcan, Lawrence’s Migration, and Abstract Expressionists in a 3-5 page submission.