GREAT MUSEUMS: Whitney Museum Online Collection II

James Welling, 0806, 2006, Whitney Museum of American Art-New York, Purchase, with funds from the Photography Committee, © James Welling, Courtesy David Zwirner-New YorkDevoted to the art of the U.S.A., the Whitney Museum of American Art presents the full range of 20th Century and Contemporary American art, with a special focus on works by living artists. The Museum is dedicated to collecting, preserving, interpreting, and exhibiting American art, and its collection is the Museum’s key resource. The Museum’s signature exhibition, the Biennial, is the country’s leading survey of the most recent developments in American art (Part I).

By Efi Michalarou
Photo: Whitney Museum of American Art Archive

The Whitney’s collection includes over 22,000 works created by more than 3,000 artists during the 20th and 21st Centuries. At its core are Museum founder Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney’s personal holdings, totaling some 600 works when the Museum opened in 1931. These works served as the basis for the founding collection, which Mrs. Whitney continued to add to throughout her lifetime. The Whitney’s collection online provides access to over 21,000 works by more than 3,000 artists. These works in all mediums (painting, sculpture, drawing, printmaking, photography, film, video, installation, and new media) serve as a remarkable resource for understanding art history and the creative process of artists in the U.D.A. from 1900 to today. The Whitney has deep holdings of the work of certain key artists, spanning their careers and the mediums in which they worked, including: Alexander Calder, Mabel Dwight, Jasper Johns, Glenn Ligon, Brice Marden, Reginald Marsh, Agnes Martin, Georgia O’Keeffe, Claes Oldenburg, Ed Ruscha, Cindy Sherman, Lorna Simpson, and David Wojnarowicz.

Stuart Davis, Owh! in San Pao, 1951, Whitney Museum of American Art-New York, © Estate of Stuart Davis/Licensed by VAGA-New York
Stuart Davis, Owh! in San Pao, 1951, Whitney Museum of American Art-New York, © Estate of Stuart Davis/Licensed by VAGA-New York

 

 

Allan D'Arcangelo, Madonna and Child, 1963, Whitney Museum of American Art-New York, Purchase, with funds from the Painting and Sculpture Committee, © Estate of Allan D'Arcangelo
Allan D’Arcangelo, Madonna and Child, 1963, Whitney Museum of American Art-New York, Purchase, with funds from the Painting and Sculpture Committee, © Estate of Allan D’Arcangelo

 

 

Emma Amos, About Whiteness (Red), 1995, Whitney Museum of American Art-New York; Purchase, with funds from the Print Committee, © Emma Amos
Emma Amos, About Whiteness (Red), 1995, Whitney Museum of American Art-New York; Purchase, with funds from the Print Committee, © Emma Amos

 

 

Georgia O'Keeffe, Summer Days, 1936, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, Gift of Calvin Klein, ©The Georgia O'Keeffe Foundation/Artists Rights Society (ARS)-New York
Georgia O’Keeffe, Summer Days, 1936, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, Gift of Calvin Klein, ©The Georgia O’Keeffe Foundation/Artists Rights Society (ARS)-New York

 

 

Hannah Wilke, S.O.S. Starification Object Series (Curlers), 1974, Whitney Museum of American Art-New York, Purchase, with funds from the Photography Committee and partial gift of Marsie, Emanuelle, Damon and Andrew Scharlatt, © Marsie, Emanuelle, Damon and Andrew Scharlatt, Hannah Wilke Collection & Archive-Los Angeles
Hannah Wilke, S.O.S. Starification Object Series (Curlers), 1974, Whitney Museum of American Art-New York, Purchase, with funds from the Photography Committee and partial gift of Marsie, Emanuelle, Damon and Andrew Scharlatt, © Marsie, Emanuelle, Damon and Andrew Scharlatt, Hannah Wilke Collection & Archive-Los Angeles

 

 

Charles Ray, Puzzle Bottle, 1995, Whitney Museum of American Art-New York, Purchase, with funds from the Contemporary Painting and Sculpture Committee and Barbara and Eugene Schwartz, © Charles Ray
Charles Ray, Puzzle Bottle, 1995, Whitney Museum of American Art-New York, Purchase, with funds from the Contemporary Painting and Sculpture Committee and Barbara and Eugene Schwartz, © Charles Ray

 

 

Cindy Sherman, Untitled, 2008, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, Purchase, with funds from the Painting and Sculpture Committee and the Photography Committee, © Cindy Sherman
Cindy Sherman, Untitled, 2008, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, Purchase, with funds from the Painting and Sculpture Committee and the Photography Committee, © Cindy Sherman

 

 

Ed Ruscha, The Artist's Shoes - London, 196, Whitney Museum of American Art-New York, Gift of the artist, Courtesy Gagosian Gallery, © Ed Ruscha
Ed Ruscha, The Artist’s Shoes – London, 196, Whitney Museum of American Art-New York, Gift of the artist, Courtesy Gagosian Gallery, © Ed Ruscha

 

 

Richard Avedon, Dovima with Elephants - Cirque d'Hiver, Paris, 1955, Whitney Museum of American Art-New York, Gift of Eileen and Peter Norton, © Richard Avedon estate
Richard Avedon, Dovima with Elephants – Cirque d’Hiver, Paris, 1955, Whitney Museum of American Art-New York, Gift of Eileen and Peter Norton, © Richard Avedon estate

 

 

Ellsworth Kelly, Untitled, 1962, Whitney Museum of American Art-New York, Purchase, with funds from the Drawing Committee, The Lauder Foundation, Evelyn and Leonard Lauder Fund and Kathleen Fuld, © Ellsworth Kelly estate
Ellsworth Kelly, Untitled, 1962, Whitney Museum of American Art-New York, Purchase, with funds from the Drawing Committee, The Lauder Foundation, Evelyn and Leonard Lauder Fund and Kathleen Fuld, © Ellsworth Kelly estate

 

 

Karen Kilimnik, CK, 1993, Whitney Museum of American Art-New York, Gift of The Bohen Foundation, © Karen Kilimnik
Karen Kilimnik, CK, 1993, Whitney Museum of American Art-New York, Gift of The Bohen Foundation, © Karen Kilimnik

 

 

Bruce Nauman, Six inches of my knee extended to six feet, 1967, Whitney Museum of American Art-New York, Partial and promised gift of Robert A. M. Stern, © Bruce Nauman
Bruce Nauman, Six inches of my knee extended to six feet, 1967, Whitney Museum of American Art-New York, Partial and promised gift of Robert A. M. Stern, © Bruce Nauman

 

 

Alice Neel, Andy Warhol, 1970, Whitney Museum of American Art-New York, Gift of Timothy Collins, © Alice Neel estate
Alice Neel, Andy Warhol, 1970, Whitney Museum of American Art-New York, Gift of Timothy Collins, © Alice Neel estate

 

 

Andy Warhol, Nine Jackies, 1964, Whitney Museum of American Art-New York, Gift of The American Contemporary Art Foundation, Inc. with Leonard A. Lauder-President, © Andy Warhol Foundation/Artists Rights Society (ARS)-New York
Andy Warhol, Nine Jackies, 1964, Whitney Museum of American Art-New York, Gift of The American Contemporary Art Foundation, Inc. with Leonard A. Lauder-President, © Andy Warhol Foundation/Artists Rights Society (ARS)-New York