On my road trip to visit my daughter last weekend, we ventured to Manhattan’s Meatpacking District to see The Whitney. The Whitney Museum of American Art is the world’s leading museum of twentieth-century and contemporary art in the United States. It was founded by sculptor and arts patron Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney.
The museum is brand spanking new at this location. It opened on May 1, 2015, and is now home to more than 19,000 works of modern and contemporary American Art.
In 1931, Whitney approached the famed Metropolitan Museum of Arts to house her twenty-year collection of 700 modern artworks. After being rejected by The Met, she founded The Whitney Museum of American Art.
Vanderbilt! You may recall the name from the prominent United States Vanderbilt family. Her daddy was Cornelius Vanderbilt II. Cornelius built his wealth in shipping and railroads during the Gilded Age. Just a reminder, the Gilded Age was an era of rapid economic growth in the United States’s industrialization.
Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney (January 9, 1875—April 18, 1942) was a prominent social figure and hostess born into the wealthy Vanderbilt family and married into the equally prosperous Whitney family.
The building was designed by architect Renzo Piano, who also designed the New York Times Building. The inaugural exhibit, “America Is Hard to See,” is drawn entirely from the Whitney Museum of Art’s collection. The massive collection covers most of the eight floors. The well-curated art is reflective of the period as listed below:
Floor Eight: 1910 -1940
Floor Seven: 1925 -1960
Floor Six: 1950 -1975
Floor Five: 1965 – Present
Floor Three: Susan and John Hess Family Gallery and Theater and Education Center and Laurie M. Tisch Education Center
Floor One: 1900-1935 The early history of the Whitney is examined
Some of my favorite pieces:
The exhibit runs until September 27, 2015. The admission fee is $22.00 per person. The museum offers a pay-as-you-wish program from 7 to 10 p.m. on Fridays, like the Metropolitan Museum of Art does daily. Looking for a new and exciting place for a date, a fun day with the girls, or art appreciation? The Whitney is the place.
Museum Hours:
Monday: 10:30 am – 6 pm
Tuesday – Closed
Wednesday: 10:30 am – 6 pm
Great accommodating hours for the latter part of the week – Thursday through Saturday when the museum hours are 10:30 am – 10:00 pm.
Non-flash photography is allowed; however, selfie sticks and tripods are prohibited.
My daughter, the soon-to-be Mrs.Yazy, and I enjoyed the eighth-floor rooftop Studio Cafe small-bites restaurant, as did everyone else, for the scenic skyline views. Our aerial visual enjoyment included the massive Google building, the tip of the Empire State Building on one side, and the Freedom Tower on another.
My trips to NYC aren’t complete until we do what’s become the new normal. The girls and I spent a lovely, neither rainy nor cloudy day walking to brunch at a little Italian restaurant on the Upper East Side, getting manicures at our fave Blooming Nails, taking the dreaded Metro downtown to the Whitney, and finishing off the night with dinner in the Union Square area. With all this strolling, I could get in 14,000 steps in the flats I brought along (the heels were just for my outfit photo).
Thumbs Up ?? for The Whitney Museum’s new location on the Hudson River and the well-curated “America Is Hard To See” exhibit. America is easy to see at The Whitney. If you are planning a visit to Manhattan, include this stop.
A special thank you to my daughter Channing for my beautiful photos.
Have a fabulous week!
