Born in Brooklyn to German émigré parents, Katherine Dreier contributed to the reception of modern art styles in the United States in many ways, as artist, collector, and curator. In 1916 she cofounded the jury-free exhibition forum Society of Independent Artists followed by Société Anonyme in 1920. Dreier was inspired by artists like Wassily Kandinsky who saw abstract art’s potential to communicate the sonic properties of music, and she attempted to visually translate compositions by Beethoven and Bach herself. Here the triangular forms striking and ricocheting around a circular plane suggest the vibration of a cymbal.