In his street scenes from 1913–14, Kirchner represented the intensity of the pulsating metropolis with a bevy of prostitutes, here identified by their feather headdresses, excessive makeup, and flamboyant walk. Despite its content, Street, Berlin was bought as early as 1920 by the Nationalgalerie in Berlin. While the artist sympathized with the national socialist movement in the 1930s, the Nazis nonetheless ultimately labeled 770 of his works degenerate, including Street, Berlin, which was removed from the Nationalgalerie.