GALLERY
The Whitney was named and founded by Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney. As a well- known sculptor and appreciator of Art, she felt that all great American artists should have their works displayed not just the artists who were renowned. When she had over 500 works of art collected Whiney tried to donate it to the recently opened Museum of Modern Art,
nd the large windows on the west side to the Hudson River beyond. Here, all at once, you have the water, the park, the powerful industrial structure and the exciting mix of people, brought together and focused by this new building and the experience of art.” Piano’s design is very remarkably asymmetrical, combining the industrial feel of the neighborhood with a more contemporary feel of the people. The Whitney was re-opened for the third time on May 1st, 2015.
Located between the High Line and the Hudson River, the Whitney museum provides quite the view. Architect Renzo Piano managed to design the largest column-free gallery in all of New York City, with over 18,000 square feet of space for the exhibition of American art. The Whitney keeps two floors for its permanent galleries as well as an additional 50,000 square feet indoors and 13,000 square feet of outdoor space. Piano says, “… we wanted to draw on [The Whitney’s] vitality and at the same time enhance its rich character. The first big gesture, then, is the cantilevered entrance, which transforms the area outside the building into a large, sheltered public space. At this gathering place beneath the High Line, Visitors will see through the building entrance a
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THE WHITNEY MUSEUM
however, her offer was rejected. As a result Whitney opened up her own museum, exclusively featuring American art, in 1929. Architect Noel L. Miller took three houses on West 8th, located in Greenwich Village, and converted it into what would be known as the first Whitney Museum as well as the Whitney’s residence. In 1954 the Whitney switched locations and opened up right behind the Museum of Modern Art. This did not last long as, in 1961, the search for a larger space began and one was found in the Upper East Side. Architects Marcel Breuer and Hamilton P. Smith designed the ‘new’ Whitney to a modern style, a style that would make the Whitney stand out compared to the buildings around it. It was finally opened in 1966 and is distinctly remembered for its display of The Nazi Drawings as one its first exhibits. Today the Whitney stands in the Meatpacking district with one of the most extensive displays of modern and contemporary American art.
TEXT-SOURCES:
Wikipedia - Whitney Museum of American Art
Witney Museum of American Art - HISTORY OF THE WHITNEY
IMAGES-SOURCES (Gallery):
Image 1, 2: Adam Kane Macchia Photography © 2016
Image 3: © Timothy Schenck
Image 4: © Marco Anelli
Image 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11: © Ed ederman