Whitney Museum of American Art Exhibition Records
Scope and Contents note
The collection comprises records produced by staff members in multiple museum departments that pertain to the development, planning, publicity and maintenance of exhibitions presented at the Whitney Museum of American Art over the span of seventy-three years. Records include correspondence, photographs, checklists, installation layouts, loan agreements, condition reports, press releases and other materials that provide primary documentation of the Whitney’s expansive exhibition history.
Dates
- 1931-2004
Conditions Governing Access
Some materials may be restricted, please contact Archivist for further details.
Conditions Governing Use
Materials in this collection may be protected by the U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.). Transmission or reproduction of materials protected by copyright beyond that allowed by fair use requires the explicit permission of the copyright owners. Works not in the public domain cannot be commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owner. Responsibility for any use rests exclusively with the user. All requests to reproduce, publish, quote from, or otherwise use collection materials must be submitted to the Whitney Museum of American Art. Publication is the issuing or distribution of copies of a work to the public. A variety of uses other than reproduction or publication may be subject to certain conditions, including display, public viewing, broadcast, presentation on the World Wide Web, etc.
Historical note
The Whitney Museum of American Art, founded in 1930 by Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney and opening in 1931, was established as a place for American artists to exhibit their works. Using the space to show both permanent collection works as well as taking on exhibitions consisting of loaned artwork, the Museum has a vibrant and important place in the history of art.
Its first exhibition, opening on November 1931 at 10 West 8th Street with Juliana Force as first Director, showcased works from the permanent collection which was developed under Mrs. Whitney’s former Whitney Studio (1908), Whitney Studio Club (1914), and Whitney Studio Galleries (1928). The Whitney’s Annual and Biennial exhibitions, beginning in 1932, invite artists to show their works and give both established and emerging artists an opportunity to be recognized in a museum setting.
In 1954, the Whitney moved to 22 West 54th Street and with a growing permanent collection and need for more space, a decision was made to build a new museum at 945 Madison Avenue at 75th Street with Marcel Breuer as the architect. The Whitney’s addition of Branch Museums allowed both exhibitions of Permanent Collection works and young artists to be presented to a wider audience. The five branches were the Downtown Branch (1973-1983), Fairfield County (1973-1984; 1988-1992), Equitable (1983-2002), WMAA at Federal Reserve Plaza (1988-1992) and Philip Morris/ Altria (1993-2008).
Along with the Annuals and Biennials, the Whitney Museum has organized significant exhibitions including American Genre: The Social Scene in Paintings and Prints (1935), European Artists in America (1945), Nature in Abstraction: The Relation of Abstract Painting and Sculpture to Nature in Twentieth-Century American Art (1958), Anti-Illusion (1969), Calder’s Circus (1972), 200 Years of American Sculpture (1976), Jasper Johns (1977), Nam June Paik (1982), and Nan Goldin: I’ll Be Your Mirror (1996).
Extent
210.0 Linear Feet
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
The Whitney Museum Exhibition Records document the efforts of multiple Museum departments in planning and presenting exhibitions at the Whitney Museum of American Art over the span of seventy-three years. Materials include correspondence, contracts, artists’ proposals, statements, CVs, photographs, checklists, press releases, announcements, brochures, articles, installation layouts, didactic texts, and other materials.
Arrangement note
The exhibition records are organized chronologically by the opening date of each exhibition. The records from 1930-1970 were processed in the 1980s. Beginning in 2001, there was an effort to continue processing Exhibition files and their arrangement was changed to reflect the larger organizational structure of the institution as well as the increased number of records created in the planning of each exhibition. The records are processed according to guidelines that do not reflect the original order of the files. More recent Exhibition files are taken from Curatorial records, while the earlier ones were processed from centralized files that combined both Curatorial and Registration files.
Separated Materials note
Note that material related to Edward Hopper is found in the Edward Hopper Research collection.
Exhibitions held at Whitney branch museums were processed separately into individual collections.
- Albers, Josef (Artist)
- Art museums--United States--New York Subject Source: Loc
- Art patronage Subject Source: Loc
- Art, Abstract Subject Source: Loc
- Art, American--20th century Subject Source: Loc
- Art, American--20th century--Correspondence Subject Source: Loc
- Art, American--20th century--Exhibitions Subject Source: Loc
- Art, American--20th century--Exhibitions--Correspondence Subject Source: Loc
- Art, American--Exhibitions Subject Source: Loc
- Art, Modern--19th century Subject Source: Loc
- Art, Modern--20th century Subject Source: Loc
- Art--20th century--Exhibitions Subject Source: Loc
- Art--Exhibitions Subject Source: Loc
- Biennials--Exhibitions Subject Source: Loc
- Drawing, American--20th century Subject Source: Loc
- Drawing, American--20th century--Exhibitions Subject Source: Loc
- Etching, American--20th century--Exhibitions Subject Source: Loc
- Exhibitions--Planning Subject Source: Loc
- Hopper, Edward, 1882-1967
- Hopper, Edward, 1882-1967. Nighthawks Subject Source: Loc
- Landscape painting, American Subject Source: Loc
- Lithography--Exhibitions Subject Source: Loc
- Museums (buildings) Subject Source: Loc
- New York (N.Y.)--In art Subject Source: Loc
- New York (N.Y.)--In art--Exhibitions Subject Source: Loc
- New York (N.Y.)--Pictoral works Subject Source: Loc
- Notebooks--Exhibitions Subject Source: Loc
- Painting, American--20th century Subject Source: Loc
- Painting, American--Exhibitions Subject Source: Loc
- Painting--Exhibitions Subject Source: Loc
- Sculpture, American--20th century Subject Source: Loc
- Sculpture, American--20th century--Exhibitions Subject Source: Loc
- Sculpture--20th century--Exhibitions Subject Source: Loc
- Still-life painting--20th century Subject Source: Loc
- Watercolor painting, American--20th century--Exhibitions Subject Source: Loc
- Watercolor painting--20th century--Exhibitions Subject Source: Loc
- Women artists--United States--20th century--Exhibitions Subject Source: Loc
- Women in art--Exhibitions Subject Source: Loc
- Wood-engraving, American--Exhibitions Subject Source: Loc
- Author
- Finding aid prepared by staff at the Frances Mulhall Achilles Library & Archives
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- Undetermined
- Script of description
- Code for undetermined script
Repository Details
Part of the Whitney Museum of American Art Archives, New York, NY Repository
Whitney Museum of American Art
99 Gansevoort St.
New York, NY 10014 United States
archives@whitney.org
