Not long after returning to New York, MacDonald-Wright separated from Russell but both continued to work in the Synchromist style, or with Synchromist color effects, though Macdonald-Wright's painting came to include more vestiges of representational imagery. They held another Synchromist exhibition in New York in 1916 and received significant promotion and critical support from Willard. In 1916, Willard and Stanton were key organizers of the prestigious "Forum Exhibition of Modern American Painters" in New York. Macdonald-Wright exhibited his work at Alfred Stieglitz's famed 291 gallery in New York in 1917. Yet the sales and the renown that he had hoped for did not materialize, and his financial situation grew desperate.