Nude Descending a Staircase (No. 2)

~Marcel Duchamp was eight years old when Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen detected the mysterious new rays he termed X-rays in November 1895. A young boy coming to terms with the world around him could hardly have chosen a more exciting period in the history of science in which to mature. New discoveries concerning the nature of matter and energy rapidly succeeded one...

The influence of Cubism—the revolutionary artistic style that originated in France—moved across the international art world during the first decades of the twentieth century. Almost two decades after its establishment, Cubist-inspired forms continued to appear in modern fashion, architecture, and the decorative arts. Despite its controversial origins, American manufacturers in the late 1920s readily appropriated Cubism as a marketable and chic treatment for a range of domestic goods. Their …