Whitney Museum of American Art
The Whitney Museum of American Art, established in 1931 in New York City, is recognized for its significant role in promoting and preserving American art. Originally founded by Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney in a rented townhouse, the museum has evolved from its humble beginnings into a leading institution showcasing a diverse range of artistic expressions. With a collection that initially comprised over seven hundred pieces, mainly from Whitney herself, the museum has built a reputation for highlighting both realist artists of the Ashcan School and those embracing abstract styles.
In 1932, the museum initiated regular biennial exhibitions, which not only provided exposure for artists but also contributed to their financial support during the Great Depression. It became a vital platform for showcasing American talent, including influential figures from the Harlem Renaissance. The museum's commitment to diverse artistic voices has allowed it to adapt and expand its collections over the decades, featuring notable contemporary artists like Jasper Johns and Kiki Smith. Today, the Whitney Museum stands as a cultural landmark, dedicated to celebrating the richness and variety of American art and its artists.
Whitney Museum of American Art
Identification New York City art museum
Date Opened in 1931
The Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City was the first institution of the 1930’s in which American artists had an authentic museum for displaying their works without being compared to their European counterparts.
The Whitney Museum of American Art had modest beginnings in 1912 within a townhouse rented by Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney in Greenwich Village, New York. After several name changes to the gallery—Whitney Studio, Whitney Studio Club, and Whitney Studio Galleries—Whitney opened the Whitney Museum of American Art in 1931 with a collection of more than seven hundred works, mostly her own.
While the Whitney family was essential in the financial support of the museum, Juliana Rieser Force became the chief curator and director of the museum. In 1932, the museum began the first of regular international biennial exhibitions. These exhibitions in the midst of the Great Depression provided exposure and a possible source of income from a special museum purchase fund for artists.
Whitney’s artistic preferences reflected her own traditional artistic training. She tended to prefer realist artists of the Ashcan School and American scene painters, among them John Sloan, George Luks, Everett Shinn, John Steuart Curry, and Thomas Hart Benton. She also collected and exhibited artists whose works reflected the abstract styles of the international avant-garde, among them Stuart Davis, Charles Demuth, Charles Sheeler, Max Weber, and Arshile Gorky. These exhibitions helped establish careers of these artists and also provided an essential core for updating the museum’s permanent collections.
The inclusion of African American artists presented a new audience for some of the most talented Harlem Renaissance painters of the 1930’s. Allan Freelon participated in several exhibitions, allowing Americans to see his colorful impressionist style on the walls of a museum for the first time.
Impact
During the 1930’s the museum created both a showcase and a forum for American art, and in doing so, established the premier collection of American art. The legacy continued with the inclusion of later artists such as Jasper Johns, Philip Guston, Kiki Smith, and Brice Marden, among others. At a time when Europe was the center of art, the Whitney Museum of American Art significantly helped to define, support, and promote American art and artists.
Bibliography
Berman, Avis. Rebels on Eighth Street: Juliana Force and the Whitney Museum of American Art. New York: Atheneum, 1990.
Biddle, Flora Miller. The Whitney Women and the Museum They Made: A Family Memoir. New York: Arcade, 1999.
Friedman, B. H. Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1978.
Sims, Patterson. Whitney Museum of American Art. Reprint. New York: Whitney Museum of Art, 1992.