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ON this date in 1913 - The famous French painting "Nude Descending a Staircase", by the French artist, Marcel Duchamp, was displayed at an "Armory Show" in New York City.
Bun Man and Mr. Purple, budding artists, attended the show and were mesmerized by the painting.
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@Madken65 Joyce Kilmer of Tree fame wrote a NYT article excoriating these new artists and holding up Nude Descending a Stair as a primary example of all that was wrong with Art and Poetry. His opinions per surviving diaries suggest that his WWI experience fundamentally changed him. I've always thought that, had he survived the war, we would have seen some astonishing work from him. He might even have changed his mind on Duchamp and his ilk.
Bun and P decided right then that they would devote the remainder of their days to painting nudes.
Their painting never really got any better, but oh, the inspiration of seeing all those lasses traipse down their stairs sans clothes was truly epic.
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