Whitney Museum of American Art

03/17/2023

"Seeing is the true language of perception. Understanding is for words. As far as I am concerned, after I've made the work, I've said everything I can say."—David Smith
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Photo: on Instagram

03/16/2023

Check out this incredible illustration for an imagined The New Yorker cover featuring Edward Hopper's Automat (1927) and the Whitney by on Instagram!

03/14/2023

It's , so we're legally obligated to share Wayne Thiebaud's Pie Counter from 1963. 🥧

Attracted to the rituals and cultural meanings surrounding them, Thiebaud began painting still lifes of everyday objects and American foods in the early 1960s.

"Pie has a long history and it has other implications: the idea of 'Pie in the Sky,' the old American preoccupation with Mom and Apple Pie, pie throwing contests, pie throwing in Chaplin films. One makes a pie out of ordinary stuff, like raisins, squash or apples and gift wraps it, in a sense with a crust. It’s very magical, very special," the artist explained.
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Wayne Thiebaud, Pie Counter, 1963. Oil on canvas, 29 13/16 × 35 15/16 in. (75.7 × 91.3 cm). Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; purchase, with funds from the Larry Aldrich Foundation Fund. © Wayne Thiebaud / Licensed by VAGA at Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

03/13/2023

"As a whole, the atmosphere the show conjures is one of possibility, not only for survival, but also for collective renewal and resilience."—Clara Maria Apostolatos on no existe un mundo poshuracán: Puerto Rican Art in the Wake of Hurricane Maria for Artsy

Don't miss the first scholarly exhibition focused on Puerto Rican art to be organized by a large U.S. museum in nearly half a century, on view at the Whitney through April 23.
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Installation view of no existe un mundo poshuracán: Puerto Rican Art In The Wake Of Hurricane Maria (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, November 23, 2022-April 23, 2023). Gamaliel Rodríguez, Collapsed Soul, 2020-21. Photo: Ryan Lowry

03/12/2023

Like many of you, we were sorry to see Edward Hopper's New York close last week. On the bright side, the Whitney is still your home for Hopper!

In addition to the videos, audio guides, and interactive map on the webpage, you can browse thousands (yes, thousands!) of Hopper collection works on our website: https://bit.ly/41W1vn4

Plus, visit the Museum's 7th floor for some face-to-face time with Hopper drawings and paintings from the Whitney's collection including Les Lavoirs ... Pont Royal (1907).
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Edward Hopper, Les Lavoirs ... Pont Royal, 1907. Oil on canvas, 23 1/2 × 28 3/4 in. (59.7 × 73 cm). Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; Josephine N. Hopper Bequest 70.1247. © Heirs of Josephine N. Hopper/Licensed by Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

03/11/2023

Can grief and mourning be catalysts for political change? We invited artists from the exhibition no existe un mundo poshuracán: Puerto Rican Art in the Wake of Hurricane Maria for a conversation about aspects of loss.

Join Garvin Sierra Vega, Gabriella N. Báez, Sofia Córdova, Awilda Sterling-Duprey, Lulu Varona, and Edra Soto to discuss the inextricable relationship between art and politics in Puerto Rico post-Hurricane Maria.

Luto y Lucha is presented online in both English in Spanish in partnership with El Centro: The Center for Puerto Rican Studies at Hunter College. Register for free: https://bit.ly/3ZRrJ8y
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Garvin Sierra Vega, Corazón (Heart), 2022. Digital image. Collection of the artist; courtesy Taller Gráfico PR. © 2022 Garvin Sierra Vega

03/10/2023

Tomando el tropo de Puerto Rico visto como un "patio trasero" de los Estados Unidos, Yiyo Tirado Rivera construye castillos de arena con la forma de hoteles icónicos de la época arquitectónica conocida como modernismo tropical. El artista modeló La Co**ha a partir de un famoso hotel que inauguró en San Juan en 1958. La degradación lenta del hotel de arena durante la exhibición sugiere el riesgo de abandono que han sufrido otros hoteles a raíz de la crisis económica, y también alude a las grandes vicisitudes que trae el construir la infraestructura de Puerto Rico alrededor del consumo extranjero.

Seizing on the trope of Puerto Rico as "America's playground," Yiyo Tirado Rivera builds castillos de arena, or sandcastles, in the shape of iconic hotels from the tropical modernism period of architecture. He modeled La Co**ha on the signature hotel that opened in San Juan in 1958. The slow degradation of the sandcastle over the course of the exhibition suggests the risk of dereliction that other hotels have faced as the economy worsens; it also speaks to the larger perils of building Puerto Rico's infrastructure around foreign consumption.
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Installation view of no existe un mundo poshuracán: Puerto Rican Art In The Wake Of Hurricane Maria (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, November 23, 2022–April 23, 2023). Yiyo Tirado Rivera, Desplazamiento I (Puerta de Tierra) (Displacement I [Puerta de Tierra]), 2020

03/09/2023

Every Ocean Hughes's The Piers Untitled (2009–23) is a photographic series that captures the piers on the west side of Manhattan.

The works show an area that once served as a gathering spot for q***r communities and a hub for underground cultures. Hughes considers the remaining pilings of the piers "unmarked memorials, found monuments, to the lives that needed that unregulated place. To those who died living q***rly. Those who died from neglect, poverty, AIDS, violence, and politics. And to those seeking life by crossing West Street."

On view through April 2 in our third floor gallery.
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Installation views of Every Ocean Hughes: Alive Side (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, January 14, 2023- April 2, 2023). Photo: by Ron Amstutz

03/08/2023

On International Women's Day today, we're honoring our founder Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney.

In the beginning of the twentieth century, Mrs. Whitney—a sculptor herself—saw that American artists with new ideas had trouble exhibiting or selling their work. She began purchasing and showing their artwork, eventually becoming the leading patron of American art from 1907 until her death in 1942.

In 1914, Mrs. Whitney established the Whitney Studio in Greenwich Village, and by 1929 she had assembled a collection of more than 500 pieces. After her offer of this gift to the Met was declined, she set up her own institution, one with a distinctive mandate: to focus exclusively on the art and artists of the US. This year, the Whitney will celebrate its 92nd anniversary.
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Edward Steichen, Mrs. Harry Payne Whitney for "Vanity Fair", 1931. Gelatin silver print, 9 15/16 × 7 15/16 in. (25.2 × 20.2 cm). Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; gift of Richard and Jackie Hollander in memory of Ellyn Hollander 2012.238. © The Estate of Edward Steichen / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

03/05/2023

We've reached the final day of Edward Hopper's New York. It's been a wonderful journey with all of you!

If you visited , what did you think? Was there anything that surprised you?
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Photos: , , , , .c, , , on Instagram

03/04/2023

Celebra el último fin de semana de El Nueva York de Edward Hopper, con esta fotografía del artista de 1950.

La curadora Kim Conaty, escribió: "Formal pero humilde, el retrato captura al artista a sus sesenta y siete años en la cima de su carrera, pocos días después de la inauguración de su mayor retrospectiva hasta la fecha, en el Whitney Museum of American Art".
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Celebrate the final weekend of Edward Hopper's New York with this photograph of the artist from 1950.

Curator Kim Conaty writes: "Formal yet humble, the portrait captures the sixty-seven-year-old artist at the height of his career, mere days after the opening of his largest retrospective to date, at the Whitney Museum of American Art."
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Edward Hopper in his studio, New York, 1950. Photograph by George Platt Lynes. The Sanborn Hopper Archive at the Whitney Museum of American Art, Frances Mulhall Achilles Library and Archives, New York; gift of the Arthayer R. Sanborn Hopper Collection Trust, EJHA.0914

03/03/2023

Now open! Refigured is our newest exhibition that reflects on interactions between digital and physical materiality. Located in our free Lobby Gallery, it includes video, animation, sculpture, and augmented reality.

The Guardian calls it, "a compelling exhibition that manages to bring a wealth of diversity of identities, approaches and media with just five pieces....It also feels fresh, a reflection of the Whitney going out and finding artists who are newer to its space, and bringing kinds of art less frequently seen there."

Read the full article: https://bit.ly/3KIPxHi
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Rachel Rossin, still from The Maw Of, 2022. Web-based animation with augmented reality (AR). Commissioned by the Whitney Museum of American Art for its artport website and Kunst-Werke Berlin Institute for Contemporary Art AP.2022.1. © Rachel Rossin

03/02/2023

Why Edward Hopper’s New York was far from reality

"Rarely does a museum so effectively recalibrate the public’s understanding of a non-living artist."—The Art Newspaper on Edward Hopper's New York https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2023/03/01/edward-hoppers-new-york-was-far-from-reality

The Whitney Museum's exhibition reveals an artist who painted the tranquil city he wanted to see

03/01/2023

Dorothea Rockburne

Dorothea Rockburne wanted to "invent and experience a different pictorial space."

Here, curator Jennie Goldstein breaks down the optical illusion presented by the artist in Balance (1985).

There are just a few more days to see In the Balance: Between Painting and Sculpture, 1965–1985! The exhibition is on view through this Sunday, March 5.

02/28/2023

The bad news is that we're in the final stretch of Edward Hopper's New York with the exhibition closing this Sunday, March 5. The good news is that if you're unable to visit the Museum there are still plenty of ways to enjoy Hopper online!

Discover videos, audio guides, a digital map, and an essay from curator Kim Conaty, and more at whitney.org/hopper.
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Edward Hopper, City Sunlight, 1954. Oil on canvas, 28 3/16 × 40 1/8 in. (71.6 × 101.9 cm). Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington, D.C.; gift of the Joseph H. Hirshhorn Foundation, 1966. © 2022 Heirs of Josephine N. Hopper/Licensed by Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

02/26/2023

Explore a selection of newly added prints featuring some of Edward Hopper's most iconic works in the Whitney Shop online.

The Whitney Print on Demand collection features archival quality prints delivered directly to your door. These prints are produced on heavyweight acid-free paper, with high-density inks that are tested for 100-year stability.

Browse Hopper prints: https://bit.ly/3YW76b2
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Edward Hopper, Queensborough Bridge, 1913. Oil on canvas, 25 7/8 × 38 1/8 in. (65.7 × 96.8 cm). Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; Josephine N. Hopper Bequest 70.1184. © 2022 Heirs of Josephine N. Hopper/Licensed by Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

02/25/2023

"Structurally, I just want to point out that in this piece, as well as all of Hopper's work, he's really using shadows and diagonal compositions to lead you through this image and to heighten the dramatic tension."—Artist Jane Dickson on Edward Hopper's Room in New York (1932)

For a new perspective on the beloved artist, listen to (or read a transcript of) artists, writers, and curators featured on the audio guide: https://bit.ly/3IgqA36. Available in both English and Spanish.
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Edward Hopper, Room in New York, 1932. Oil on canvas, 29 × 36 in. (73.7 × 91.4 cm). Sheldon Museum of Art, University of Nebraska, Lincoln; Anna R. and Frank M. Hall Charitable Trust. © 2022 Heirs of Josephine N. Hopper/Licensed by Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

02/24/2023

We're thrilled to host no existe un mundo poshuracán artist Awilda Sterling-Duprey for 3 performances of Lacks Criticality (2018–23) on March 3, 4, and 5.

For the performance, Sterling-Duprey draws on the phenomenological forces of Hurricane Maria and their impact on Puerto Rican citizens' bodies, minds, emotions, and the physical environment.

Read more and book tickets: https://bit.ly/3KzjlGa
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Awilda Sterling-Duprey, Lacks Criticality, 2018. Performance view, Conwell Hall, Temple University, September 21, 2018. Courtesy the artist and Temple University. ©️ 2018 Awilda Sterling-Duprey. Photograph by Brian Mengini

02/23/2023

You never know where you'll run into Hopper. Did you catch our Edward Hopper's New York posters in subway stations throughout NYC?

Now is your last chance to see this blockbuster exhibition inspiring a new look at the beloved artist and city. The exhibition closes March 5, so get your tickets now: https://whitney.org/tickets.
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Photos: Timothy Schenck

02/22/2023

Horace Pippin was born in 1888. Pippin, one of the most prominent Black painters of the first half of the twentieth century, taught himself to paint after being shot and permanently disabled in World War I.

The artist served in the 369th infantry regiment, better known as the Harlem Hellfighters, a predominately Black unit that encountered enormous racism. Using his left hand to prop his injured right arm, he painted subjects ranging from interiors and landscapes to portraits of historical figures and scenes inspired by his memories of the war.

The Buffalo Hunt (1933) represents an imaginary scene in the American West, with a buffalo running in deep snow while pursued by a shadowy hunter. The work can be seen as an allegory of American history, where the hunted are in plain view, and the hunter remains hidden.
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Horace Pippin, The Buffalo Hunt, 1933. Oil on canvas, 21 5/16 × 31 5/16 in. (54.1 × 79.5 cm). Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; purchase 41.27

02/21/2023

We're here to add some sunshine to your post-long weekend blues with Edward Hopper's Sunlight on Brownstones (1956).

In his late works such as this one, Hopper often incorporated solitary figures or small groups of individuals set in generic urban spaces that nonetheless capture particularities of New York City. Here, the artist merges set with setting: the figures on the brownstone steps appear to gaze upon a landscape, which is likely inspired by Central Park but takes on the fictive quality of a theatrical backdrop.

There are just a few more days to see ! Book your tickets now before the exhibition closes on March 5: whitney.org/tickets
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Edward Hopper, Sunlight on Brownstones, 1956. Oil on canvas, 30 3/8 × 40 1/4 in. (71.1 × 101.6 cm). Wichita Art Museum, Kansas; Roland P. Murdock Collection. © 2022 Heirs of Josephine N. Hopper/Licensed by Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

02/20/2023

Spend your lunch break with some great art. This Thursday at noon, we're excited to offer a free online lecture with artist, curator, and doctoral student at The Institute of Fine Arts, New York University, Bentley Brown.

Painting the World Anew: Black Abstraction, 1960s–80s will explore the pioneering role of Black artists and Black creative spaces in NYC's contemporary art movements during that time.

Register: https://bit.ly/3ItYOS5
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Alvin Loving, Rational Irrationalism, 1969. Acrylic on shaped canvas (irregular), 82 1/8 × 97 in. (208.6 × 246.4 cm). Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; purchase, with funds from the Robert C. Scull Fund for Young Artists not in the Collection 69.74a-b © The Estate of Alvin D. Loving, Jr.; courtesy the Estate of Al Loving and Garth Greenan Gallery, New York

02/18/2023

Puerto Rico's natural environment and political landscape are fertile terrain for many artists in no existe un mundo poshuracán.

This Wednesday, February 22, join us for a virtual panel moderated by Yarimar Bonilla, Director of the Center for Puerto Rican Studies at Hunter College, artists Frances Gallardo, Gabriela Salazar, Sofía Gallisá Muriente, Yiyo Tirado Rivera, Javier Orfón, and Gabriella Torres-Ferrer. The artists will discuss how they approach Puerto Rico's rich ecosystem as it survives amid decaying public services.

The program is presented in partnership with the Center for Puerto Rican Studies at Hunter College. Register for free: https://bit.ly/3Xtt18b
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Installation view of no existe un mundo poshuracán: Puerto Rican Art In The Wake Of Hurricane Maria (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, November 23, 2022–April 23, 2023). Gabriella Torres-Ferrer, Untitled (Valora tu mentira americana) (Untitled [Value Your American Lie]). Photo: Ryan Lowry