In 1910, a painting society was founded in Amsterdam of exclusively modern artists who previously lived mainly in Paris. After 1916 the association slowly ceased to exist, but it is clear that they knew, inspired and challenged each other. It is not without reason that many are on our list of the 15 greatest Dutch modern artists.
Members included Peter Alma, Jacob Bendien, C. L. Dake, Henri ten Holt, Jan Sluijters, Piet Mondriaan, Conrad Kickert (chairman), Kees van Dongen, H. le Fauconnier, J.H. Fekkes, Leo Gestel, Matheus Lau, Jacoba van Heemskerk, Hermanus Kuyt, A. de Miranda, Kasper Niehaus, Thorn Prikker, J. Proost, John Raedecker, Otto van Rees, Louis Saalborn, Lodewijk Schelfhout, Cornelis Spoor, Jan Toorop (secretary and later chairman), Charley Toorop, Jan Verhoeven, Floris Verster and Jaap Weijand.

They wanted to turn the Modern Art Circle into an Amsterdam international salon based on the example of the Salon d'Automne in Paris and focused on modern art. A jury would judge the submitted works. The circle was responsible for the introduction of Cubism in the Netherlands. Through the Dutch painter Lodewijk Schelfhout, who lived in Paris from 1903, Kickert met the painters Henri le Fauconnier, Fernand Léger, Jean Metzinger and Albert Gleizes, who in turn had a great influence on the group. Through the art dealer Wilhelm Uhde, Kickert also knew the works of Picasso and Braque. (see here a dish that we came up with in response to Picasso's Le Coq).

In 1911, the Circle held a first exhibition of 166 works in four upper rooms of the Stedelijk Museum, including 93 by the above-mentioned foreign painters. A second one of even greater size followed in 1912. In 1913 there was no work by the most important cubists, but there was more emphasis on modern art from Germany, including the expressionists Kandinsky and Marc, and other avant-gardists such as Makowski and Machkoff from Russia. Dutch representatives that year were Piet Mondriaan, Charley Toorop, Jacoba van Heemskerck and Else Berg.
After a disagreement, Sluijters and Gestel were expelled from the Modern Art Circle by Kickert. Mondriaan also decided to leave after this. The reason was the founding of the Hollandsche Kunstenaarskring, which arose as a separation from the painters' association Sint Lucas. In October 1916, the Modern Art Circle was dissolved by Kickert, after a large group of painters who formed the Nieuwe Kring in Bergen had also left Toorop.