Description
Like the Guggenheim, the Whitney is set apart by its unique architecture: it’s a Marcel Breuer-designed grey granite cube with an all-seeing upper-storey ‘eye’ window. When Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney, a sculptor and art patron, opened the museum in 1931, she dedicated it to living American artists. Today, the Whitney holds about 15,000 pieces by nearly 2,000 artists, including Alexander Calder, Willem de Kooning, Edward Hopper (the museum holds his entire estate), Jasper Johns, Louise Nevelson, Georgia O’Keeffe and Claes Oldenburg. Still, the museum’s reputation rests mainly on its temporary shows, particularly the exhibition everyone loves to hate, the Whitney Biennial. Held in even-numbered years, the Biennial remains the most prestigious (and controversial) assessment of contemporary art in America. The Whitney’s small midtown Altria branch, located in a corporate atrium space across the street from Grand Central Terminal, mounts solo commissioned projects. At the main building, there are free guided tours daily and live performances on select Friday nights. Sarabeth’s, the museum’s café, is open daily till 4.30pm, offering sandwiches and the like. In 2007, the Whitney confirmed plans to open a separate museum outpost in the new High Line park.