Key achievements by individual figures, including Georgia O’Keeffe and Jacob Lawrence, are interspersed throughout the show. The exhibition begins with a gallery devoted to selections from the Museum’s founding collection, followed by galleries that weave their way through major art historical movements and genres.
The collection she assembled foregrounded how artists uniquely reveal the complexity and beauty of American life. Whitney recognized both the importance of contemporary American art and the need to support the artists who made it.
The Whitney was established in 1930 by Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney, a sculptor and patron, to champion the work of living American artists. This exhibition of more than 120 works, drawn entirely from the Whitney’s collection, is inspired by the founding history of the Museum.
