Whitney Museum of American Art

7/15/2013

I enjoyed my Whitney experience.  The museum is the perfect size for people like me that enjoy contemporary art but can succumb to art fatigue in huge museums - the whole thing can be done in a couple of hours.

It also isn't very crowded, so you can enjoy the art at your own pace and not feel rushed.  We accidentally went right before pay-what-you-wish Friday evenings (starts at 6), so it did get a little bit more busy when we were halfway through... but even so, the crowds weren't overwhelming.  I would say that $20 seems a bit steep for the size of the museum.

The building itself is super blah - detracts from the art, if anything - so I look forward to seeing the new space the Whitney will occupy in 2015.  The cafe ("Untitiled") has great coffee, and supposedly has great food, but the service is terribly slow.

6/19/2013

I came here for the "Edward Hopper: Drawings" show, featuring his iconic painting Nighthawks, and its companion piece Early Sunday Morning. I was impressed with the breadth of material collected by the Whitney, in detailing Hopper's process in researching and planning his paintings. Rather than taking an organic approach, Hopper's pre-painting drawings were a blueprint for his final artwork. This exhibit lent great insight in his process, and really shows Hopper's meticulous, near draftsman style work.

I also enjoyed the "American Legends" show on the 5th floor. The first thing I noticed when the elevator doors opened was a Stuart Davis piece "The Paris Bit" and next was "Owh! in San Paõ". I was blown away by the playfulness of these two works. His use of color and type were as much a precursor to pop art, as it is to graphic design.

Unfortunately, the Whitney is very small. If you are looking for a museum to occupy just two hours or less, this would be your place. You get a small taste of American artists such as Joseph Cornell, Alexander Calder, even an unusual video from David Hockney, but you don't get the immersive experience that you might at a larger museum.

Still, it was very pleasant. Not everyone gets art, so this may not be everyone's cup of tea.

3/8/2014

Such an underrated museum... and worth a visit even if only for the architecture -a Marcel Breuer masterpiece-.

As much as I love the building, I know that their new location -compliments of Renzo Piano- is much needed and will usher in a new and exciting era for the museum.

2/18/2014

They closed floors 2-4 and only have 5 floors. Not sure when the other floors open, but they do give you a discount rate of $10.

We took part in the tour and it was great. Our tour guide was very knowledgeable, and really gave us insight about the time period, the history behind the artwork and artist, and its significance.

I loved the tour. I just wish the other floors were open.

6/20/2014

We came on Friday evening during the pay-what-you-wish hours. Only the 5th floor was open, but it was a striking, thought-provoking collection of art. After my friend and I had already spent over an hour at the gallery, we decided to stay for the talk after we found ourselves "eavesdropping" from across the room. The talk turned out to be an incredibly engaging and informative discussion of select pieces in the exhibition. Our guide drew parallels and contrasts between the works and collections that made for a very powerful and inspiring narrative. I truly enjoyed the museum and look forward to returning when more works are on display.

11/24/2013

I'm a fan of this underrated museum and have been here twice within the year, for the Hopper Drawings and Beyond Love exhibits. The exterior resembles a concrete Lego piece and while not conventionally aesthetically pleasing, there is something compelling about the boxy, industrial architecture; maybe it reminds me of the List Art Center at Brown, where I studied art history in my younger years... The Whitney is relocating to a shiny, new space in the Meatpacking District in 2015, but I recommend that you experience its endearingly austere UES location while you still can.

What I like about the Whitney - that its size is very manageable, almost more like a multi-floored gallery than a full-fledged museum - may not justify its hefty $20 entrance fee. I am fortunate to enjoy complimentary admission as a benefit of my job, but there are pay-as-you-wish Friday nights which I would probably take advantage of were I not so special :)

The Hopper Drawings exhibit is one of the best I've seen in recent memory. Conceptually, it follows in the footsteps of the Magic of Line exhibit at the Getty, which showcased Gustav Klimt's drawings. Although better known for their paintings, both artists have a varied, vast, oft-overlooked ouevre on paper - which include completed, standalone pieces as well as sketches not meant to see the light of day. I've found that drawing lends itself to be a very intimate medium; as the foundation for classically trained artists, I wouldn't be surprised if Hopper was more at home with pencil than paint. In fact, I think his drawings are a stronger vehicle for displaying his strictly technical abilities.

I generally do a drive-by of the rest of the museum, which fails to really unify or situate the canon of "American Art" in any meaningful way. That said, I come for the exhibits and that is what I get. The Whitney is definitely worth a visit, especially when you're in the mood for a visual hors d'ouevre, not an epic feast... There's the Met for that!

4/22/2014

Keeping modern and experimental art and things like installations alive.  Free headsets with information about the exhibits if you want them.  Spooky and creepy music in the stairwells.  Some parts of some floors may not be appropriate for children.  Great for a rainy day, to experience audio/visual art installations as a viewer or an active participant, to people-watch, to wander while listening to ambient music, to stare while listening to pre-recorded educational information, or to just hang out.  On the pricey side, but worth it if you have the time to explore.

4/6/2013

Really boring.

The museum is located inside an unattractive dark cube of a building. It looks like a box of concrete. The most interesting floor is probably the 5th floor where I saw 2-3 Georgia O'Keefe paintings, and a few by Edward Hopper. Other than that, the rest of the paintings did not interest or stand out to me.

The fourth floor had a temporary exhibit by Jay DeFeo with some large esoteric art pieces. The third floor had some strange exhibits in the center of the rooms - I saw a pile of coal on the ground with some grand pianos turned on it's side, a shopping car bound with cord with a sprinkled blue sand circle around it, a video shelf with books on it...plus some other forgettable exhibits.

On the second floor, there was a musician playing live music in a darkened room with a crowd of people congregated around him.

I don't recommend the Whitney. The art did not move me.

11/20/2013

I love the Whitney because it always has interesting pieces and it's not so huge and overwhelming as some of the other museums in this city.  It's never overly crowded and I love seeing the works of American artists.  It helps that I can get free tickets through work but if you haven't been yet, I will definitely recommending going.  The staff is always friendly and the museum is located in a quiet part of the city.  The recent Hopper, Calder and O'Keefe exhibit was great!

6/30/2014

My favorite museum in New York City and I am from New York.  Very tastefully arranged and the exhibits are fulfilling but not excessive.  Highly recommended :)

1/12/2013

The Whitney is pay what u wish Friday 6-9PM, so it's another perfect start to a date night.  We were even able to cover the whole museum in that time.  I really wish I knew more about modern art and had more of an appreciation for it...but regardless it is still really fun and interesting to take a stroll around the Whitney!  
The exhibit that was the stuck with me the most was Aleksandra Mir "The Seduction of Gravity". There were videos of her stacking up tires, donuts and other things and then watching them fall to simulate what Gallileo went through when he discovered the law of falling bodies.  
You might leave scratching your head but it's definitely worth the experience!

10/20/2011

There's a wide variety of art here. There's a mix of pretty everything and that any person can pretty much enjoy one or all of the 5 floors of art out display.

I'm a vintage video game dude and one of their displays was several bowling games from various video game entertainment systems to include NES, SNES, Game Cube and PS2. What's cool about this video game exhibit is that they hacked each game to make the players continuously throw gutter balls on an endless loop. Now that's awesome.
yelp.com/biz_photos/BY64…

But ultimately, my favorite exhibit (until Oct 2011) was the Lyonel Feininger: At the Edge of the World exhibit. This exhibit has several of this German artist's paintings, caricatures and his less known photos are here as well. His famous works include the Gelmeroda VIII, Carnival, Green Bridge and the Self Portrait are all found here. His works were the early forms of cubism, by the use of geometric shapes in several of his arts.

On the 5th floor is the Singular Visions exhibit, one of their permanant collections. Each room on the 5th floor has just one piece of item. That's it, that's singular for ya.

And on the 2nd floor is their Breaking Ground exhibit. Prior to the Whitney museum being open back in 1931, Gertrude Whitney started amassing several paintings from Edward Hopper, Georgia O'Keefe, Stuart Davis and amongst other. These originals are found on this floor since it did break ground.

As you can tell, there's stuff for pretty much everyone. It's part of the NY City Pass so take advantage of this museum during your visit here.

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  Various video game systems

  Various video game systems
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• See all photos from Mike C. for Whitney Museum of American Art

3/26/2013

So I've popped my Whitney cherry. And my first observation is the natural lighting. This is none. Hopefully the new building they are moving to in 2015 will rectify this error in design. You would notice it too much accept for the fact that the artificial light did little to enhance the experience. You want people to linger. Oh! What's that? It's 5:50, and the museum closes at 6pm, so I can't see that picture right there that my friend is trying to describe. Maybe you don't want people to linger. But isn't that what you're supposed to do in a museum?

I'll probably end up going back. Hopefully before 2015, but if I don't it doesn't feel like a loss with so many other choices available on a Saturday afternoon.

11/24/2012

To immerse yourself
What's better than the Whitney
For installations?

Contemporary
Art in different media
See it with fresh eyes.

I love the Whitney.  On every floor, I have the opportunity to get immersed in an artist's vision.  Even when I don't particularly like the style of the work, the exhibits are engaging, because the curating & installation is spot on.

6/29/2013

The Whitney is difficult to review. On one hand, the current Hopper exhibit is fantastic, but on the other hand, the rest of the exhibits, including the pieces from their permanent collection are quite substandard in terms of overall importance (yes, there is a Jasper Johns and a Basquiat on display, but there are better examples elsewhere in the city). Currently, the only truly spectacular paintings on the fifth floor are Hopper's wonderful self portrait and Georgia O'Keeffe's White Calico Flower (which is one of her near monochromatic works, with only a hint of green in the background of the composition). I guess that The Whitney is what it is, and lives or dies on its temporary installations. As of June of 2013, the Hopper exhibition is staggering, astonishing, near miraculous, and collects and displays a good many preliminary drawings with his most famous works (yes, even Night Hawks, which is guarded under the tightest possible security during its loan from Chicago, so be sure to pay a visit). The Whitney's curatorial staff is on their toes and the information presented about each work (even in their permanent collection) is far better than what one sees at MoMA or The Met.

To me, the real treat is the building itself, which is a Marcel Breuer, and as such, provokes as much praise as condemnation. I love Breuer's work and adore that monolithic, sparse Bauhaus aesthetic. Indeed, Breuer's soulless Modernism is just what most artists deserve, and the Whitney is ideal at showing exactly what happens when relatively mediocre minds try to compete against an absolute titan of design. The paintings and mutlimedia pieces retreat into the background and are overwhelmed by Breuer's genius. What possible chance does a group of minor works by Elie Nadelman have against such a structure? The bare spaces are sometimes more impressive than any possible installations, which is something that Robert Irwin's Scrim Veil makes so very concrete (be sure to see it before it leaves on September 1, 2013).

True story: my son and my date stood for five minutes staring at a work in The Whitney and then asked me what it meant. I replied: it's the flipping window for heaven's sake. You're both staring at the window.

In conclusion, despite its shortcomings, I'm a fan of The Whitney, and if I see that a good touring exhibit is making the museum its temporary home, I will be back.

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  Practically the only place to take photos of the art in The Whitney without being harassed by security is the main staircase.

  Practically the only place to take photos of the art in The Whitney without being harassed by security is the main staircase.

6/28/2013

Taking advantage of the Bank of America Museums on Us day, we decided to visit the Whitney.  I couldn't remember when I had last been there so it felt like a new experience.  The building looked like an office building, especially from the outside.  Inside, it seemed more like a gallery than a typical museum and was rather small so we were able to take everything in within less than two hours.

The most notable aspect for me was the Blues for Smoke multimedia exhibit which included not only visual art but jazz performances.  Otherwise, I found it to be a feast for the eyes with different types of modern art that were well-curated for a short afternoon outing.

8/14/2012

Hmm... I'm not exactly how I feel about the Whitney Museum. I'm a big fan of contemporary art, but as a museum, I think there could be some improvements.

I came here to check out the Yayoi Kusama exhibit, which runs until September 30, 2012. I REALLY wanted to get tickets (they cost extra on top of admission) to the "Fireflies on the Water" collection, but by the time I got there the tickets were all sold out for the day! BIG SAD FACE. This collection runs until October 28, 2012, so I'll make another attempt to check it out.

Note: Only on FRIDAYS does the Museum open its doors at 1pm, NOT 11am. BUT, on Fridays there is the "suggested donation" admission fee.

I recommend that you take the elevator to the 5th floor, and then work your way down through each collection. Everyone crowds in the Georgia O'Keeffe room, as expected.

The Sharon Hayes exhibit is much more interactive. She uses sound, film, video, signs, album covers (etc) to make statements on politics, history (Etc). It was ... interesting. I should have spent more time exploring that exhibit, but my senses were overpowered by all the various media going on simultaneously in that room.

I really, really, really enjoyed Oskar Fischinger's Raumlichtkunst (Space Light Art) exhibit. You sit in a dark room and watch three screens. Each screen has its own abstract image that moves in sync or tempo with the frenetic, blaring music. Definitely a different experience.

The reason why I'm rating the Whitney a 3-star is because of the security personnel in each room. They were all super cranky on the day I visited. Their attitudes didn't make the viewing experience calm or pleasurable.

4/10/2013

the Whitney feels more like a huge gallery than a museum proper. in contrast to the Guggenheim, though, it feels like it is better organized and curated and is a decent place to begin if you want to get a quick dose of contemporary art.

this place certainly has a good balance so far as exhibits go. paintings, photography, sculptures, abstract stuff, audio/video experiences; it's not limited to one medium, which I liked. currently there's even an exhibit with live music!

of particular note to me was a whole gallery of works by Alexander Calder, a fellow Stevens alum (class of 1919, that is) who made the mobile a popular form of art. kinetic sculptures FTW!

as with our trip to the Guggenheim earlier in the day, the price was free-ninety-nine when we visited, thanks to BoA (normal admission is $18). you can cover the museum in just under 2 hours, plus they have guided tours.

7/21/2013

It's a museum of modern American art. Unfortunately, none of the exhibits really intrigued me, and the arrangement of the exhibits seemed quite haphazard. I was done seeing everything in a little over an hour.

8/22/2013

The Whitney is known for showcasing American art and Edward Hopper is one of the best known American artists. The museum has shown its devotion to Hopper with an exhibit currently showing until October 6th, 2013 and with another one that was on display as recently as 2010/2011. I love Edward Hopper, but I'm ashamed to say I had not paid* a visit to the Whitney until a few days ago! I was so excited when I finally made a visit after Nighthawks teased me every day for months by staring at me from the walls of subway stations and cars (Google Images search: Hopper Whitney subway ads).

The museum building itself is rather drab, but the inside is bright and spacious. There is a main lobby and small store on the ground floor, and four stories of gallery space. The entire museum can be viewed within 1 to 2 hours.

Let me tell you a little bit about two of my favorite current exhibits to give you a taste of what the Whitney is like!

1. Hopper Drawing (until 10/6/2013)
I am especially smitten with Hopper's paintings. They are rather simplistic technically, but his paintings strike a chord with me (and most other people) because of their narrative quality. He has been able to evoke emotion by his clever placement of people in relation to their surroundings, diagonal lines, his use of empty space, and the looks of longing, loneliness, and sadness he has painted onto the faces of the people. These tableaux, these windows into quiet, intimate moments, are what I find so captivating. "Hopper Drawing" focuses more on his sketches, and some of the sketches are paired with the final painting. It was interesting to go backwards to see how he came up with the painting and to see how meticulous he was with his drafts. It was a delight to see such lively sketch marks! It was a shame that not all of the sketches were paired with their paintings (especially of paintings I was not familiar with) but it was still impressive to see so many of his sketches line the walls of a whole floor.

2. Robert Irwin (until 9/1/2013!!)
This exhibit almost spans the entire fourth floor space! By using the natural light from the window and a thin veil, Irwin has created an unique space filled with shadows and silhouettes. The room also appears to lengthen and shorten, darken and lighten depending on where you choose to stand. We spent an embarrassing amount of time attempting to capture each other's silhouettes against the window, but other people kept taking pictures of the view from the Whitney and graced (...ruined) our photos with their presence. It goes to show that tastes can vary! This room is surprisingly a great place to observe and reflect. There were a few people who sat near the edges and observed the space and people-watched.


Likelihood of another visit:
Likely! Seeing that most of the exhibits are ending by autumn, I am curious to know what kinds of artwork will take their place. I also want to visit Untitled, the restaurant cafe inside of the Whitney. The Whitney is actually constructing a new building near the High Line, which plans to be open in 2015, so that's also something to look forward to.

Thank you for reading.
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*Sort of a pun: We actually went on their Friday pay-as-you-wish time (6pm-9pm). There also wasn't a huge crowd like at the MoMA! Normally, admission tickets are $20.

1/5/2014

Visited this Museum a couple of weeks ago. It was great! Thats the only word to describe it. It was just beautiful. Only a couple of floors so you can see most of it in one day. The paintings were beautiful and intriguing. Also there was performance art. I went alone and had a blast! I will 100% go back. There were many different styles of art on display. It was a wonderful experience! I do not understand all the 3 star reviews?

4/29/2013

The Whitney is finely curated, well organized gem. I visited during a Friday night where you can "pay what you want". There was a good flow of people entering and virtually no line. Passing through the museum was no hassle as they had very large elevators. Their jazz exhibit was what I really wanted to see and it did not disappoint. I couldn't get through the entire museum on my trip, but I will definitely be back for more!

5/17/2014

This museum is all about contemporary/modern art.. which i'm not into. I had to come here because i had to write a museum report for art class but.. 7/10 were inappropriate pieces.. I felt really uncomfortable. i was also pretty disappointed at what they had. The only part that i kinda liked was the 5th floor,  they had georgia o'keeffe paintings and some other decent ones. But that was pretty much it.. I guess everyone has their own pov but the whitney biennial is def NOT my cup of tea.

3/25/2012

I came here to see the Biennial, and I was very disappointed. I have been a couple of times before,  there has been some things I liked and some things I didn't. This year I felt that it really lacked any kind of modern, interesting pieces. There was some good photography but that's about it. Really not worth 18 bucks, so If you do go, then do it Friday when you can choose your price.

1/14/2013

Came here for the Pop Art exhibition... This museum needs a renovation - that concludes everything.

Save your money and go in on Friday nights for pay-as-you-wish.

8/13/2011

I adore this museum.  We've been here twice over the years.  The galleries are well designed and the pieces are usually large and spread out.  Very easy to enjoy.  When museums cram in too many pieces I feel overwhelmed.

The Cory ArcAngel Pro Tools exhibit was awesome and will be running until September 11, 2011.  It was the one exhibit where we could take pictures and they had free wifi. Yay!  Lots of cool art, including one with video consoles from my youth.  Brought back memories.

Xavier Cha's Body Drama was also pretty interesting, showing until October 9, 2011.  Every hour on the hour, an actor straps on a camera with the lens facing the actor and the actor pretends to be trapped, freaking out.  When the actor isn't there, the museum shows footage of other actors from the camera.  It's pretty disorienting.  Watching the live actor was a little weird - I felt like a peeping tom.  But the footage and how it disorients you in the room was pretty interesting.

I suggest taking the stairs.  The museum usually has some interesting artwork in there and the stairwell is very nice.

4/18/2013

One of my least favorite museums, somehow. The size of it feels clumsy and uncomfortable, there is some alright stuff but altogether nothing that particularly struck me. One of the floors has no straight staircase going down - its weird, like a dead end. Although, last time i was there i saw a pretty amazing (and pretty creepy) exhibit WORKWORKWORK by Charles LeDray - dark OCD. If you are a visitor, I'd leave that one for last.

8/17/2013

I don't get it . It feels like they give priority to artists with good pr rather than real original artists . The Mona does it also sometime, but at least they have more clout .

8/5/2012

Not a huge fan of the Whitney collection.  I'll be honest, contemporary art isn't my thing, but I can appreciate it if it's done well.  But the permeant collection at the Whtiney is really pretty boring and tired.  You can get through the whole thing in under an hour.  They have pretty good special exhibits every so often (favorite bing the buckminster fuller exhibit a few years ago), but not nearly as good as the Gugg or the MOMA.  Be interesting to see what happens when it moves near the highline and the Met collection moves in.

Also not a fan of Danny Meyers Untitled (see separate review).

9/10/2012

Came here on Sunday for the Kusama exhibition.

Her work is mind-blowing, knowing that fact that she struggled as a girl fighting with her family and trying to become an artist. Some work is a little disturbing to be honest, but I did enjoy listening to the audio track offered by the museum.

I was a little disappointed that I didn't get to see Fireflies on the Water because we were LATE and the earliest slot was 3:20-3:40pm in the afternoon (we got there around 10:50am). With that said, you should definitely go at least half an hour earlier before they're open to get in line!!

8/22/2012

I'm sad to say I was unimpressed. I will preface this review by saying I am not an art expert. I really enjoy checking out different museums & learning about art, but I am certainly not an expert.

My main complaints are how small this museum is and how long I had to wait for Fireflies. A few of the floors were closed when I went, so paying $18 for a partial experience seemed liked a lot. Additionally, my main goal in coming was to see the Fireflies on the Water exhibit. I got to the museum right when it opened, and had to wait in line outside in the rain for over an hour (WHAT?!!). Once I got in (a little after 2 PM), I was told entry to the Fireflies exhibit wasn't available until 7:20 PM... 5 hours later!!!! I was stunned, but of course I accepted, since I was paying for entry to the museum already. I walked around the whole museum in about 1-1 1/2 hours, left, and came back later... it was just a ridiculous way to spend an entire day.

I don't think I'll be back soon, unfortunately.

8/15/2013

I think the guards that work on the museums are very rude and you can't even get four feet near the art work because they start yelling at you as if you we're trying to remove the art work from the wall. I will never go back here I think there are a lot of better exhibits at the met and there is also better treatment. I'm glad that we had student discounts and didn't have to pay full price for mistreatment. DON'T GO USELESS YOU LIKE SOMEONE YELLING AT YOU MYOU GO TO SEE ART NOT MISTREATMENT.

8/4/2013

Whitney is my favorite museum in NY. Their exhibition is good, the exhibition space is not too big and it is not crowded. It is very suitable for people who want to go alone. And their free tour is pretty good! Last Friday, I went to Hopper' s exhibition. The docent in whitney museum who name Frank Balsand (not sure how to spell) made a very good guide for Hopper's drawing and his life. After about two hours guide, I felt know much more about this American artist. It is very helpful.

8/21/2012

Being asian w/ tote bag n "art" student id at the Whitney during a Yayoi Kusama show felt like a fag with more than 2 photo tags on patrickmcmullan.com wearing all black harem pants n rick owens.

Aniwai, I'm sort of on a diet off processed food n faminist art, so the majority of my interest was spent on spotting fashion students (who will use Yaya's art as inpiration for their next assignment "designing a collection") n counting # of art lovers wearing dots.

I didnt want to go to the third floor show but my contemporary bf was curious so we went. The show was a compilation CD of the Average IQ of 1960's Teens, unshaved pits, "Marxism," lena dunham, lena dunham nude, Deceptacon, and the balance of a bushwick checking account.

There was an "eARTh" sticker u can buy at the gift shop. It says Earth n Art. I will buy some next time to paste on people's lambos n give one to my art teacher.

9/17/2005

Founded in Greenwich Village in 1930 by Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney, a sculptor in her own right, the present building - an inverted three-tiered pyramid of concrete and gray granite - is an imposing sight on the Upper East Side. One of the finest collections of 20th-century American art in the world, the rotating permanent collection consists of a selection of major works by Edward Hopper, Georgia O'Keeffe, Roy Lichtenstein, Jasper Johns, and other significant artists. Shows tend to be well-curated and edgier than those at MoMA or the Guggenheim, with subject matter ranging from fashions inspired by Warhol to in-depth retrospectives of famous artists like Mark Rothko and Keith Haring. Free gallery tours are offered daily, and they offer an eclectic calendar of music, screenings, and lectures. Be sure to stop at Sarabeth's, reputedly the best museum restaurant in town.

7/16/2013

I went there the first time and it was just okay compared to the other museums in New York. The Edward Hopper exhibit is very interesting. The good thing is that it's not very busy and it's not very big so you can enjoy it without anyone rushing you and see everything in 3-4 hours. I hope that the new building at the high line will be more modern then the current building!!

10/30/2012

I feel equipped to write a review of the Whitney as I've had to make the trek to the UES a few times in the past month or so. First, we attempted to see the Fireflies exhibit, but failed at getting timed tickets. That visit was a wash though--we got to see the rest of the Yayoi Kusama exhibit AND accidentally learned that I had a corporate membership. Score.

The second time, we were wise enough to get there early and managed to see Fireflies. By this point the other exhibits had changed too, so we got to see more than we expected. All in all, worth a  trip to the UES for an interesting little museum that usually isn't as overwhelming--crowd wise--as the Met.

3/5/2011

Somewhere in between the academic nature of the MOMA and the audacity of PS1 lies a nice balance of strange but good at the Whitney.
I'm a contemporary art person but I enjoyed this museum a bit more than the MOMA and PS1 because it was more manageable and the art selection was very good.
Getting slapped in the face with a huge neon sign that said, "negro sunshine" started things off, with a great exhibit on Edward hopper, they have a large collection of his, and then a collection of recent donations and then a nicely put together exhibit from the collection.
The Edward Keinholz was so moving I almost cried.  
3 floors of art on my visit, one floor was closed for installation.
There were 2 free tours on my visit.
Gift shop.
Free first Thursday's at night, but the line can be painful.

8/24/2012

Yayoi Kusama exhibit is the only reason to go there. And I'm not referring to the fireflies exhibit which is overhyped. The line is ridiculous to get in so be forewarned.

8/25/2011

I will miss the Whitney when it moves downtown in 2015, but for now I will enjoy what it has to offer. It is true that the Whitney is smaller than MoMA and the Met, but what it lacks in size it makes up for in its exhibitions. Every two years the museum hosts the Whitney Biannual, which showcases the artwork of lesser known and up and coming artists. The Whitney displays a great mixture of special exhibitions (the Glenn Ligon show was nothing short of amazing) while also displaying the museum's vast permanent collection. Staying true to Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney's dedication and desire to collect and show American artists, the museum has grown along with the changing art movements. You will find the Whitney to be less crowded than its other well know NYC contemporaries, but it is worth a trip uptown.