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Whitney Museum of American Art
art museum in New York City / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Whitney Museum of American Art, known informally as the "Whitney Museum" or "The Whitney", is an art museum located in New York City. The museum was founded in 1930 by Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney (1875–1942).[2]
![]() The front of the museum (2019) | |
Established | 1930 (1930) |
---|---|
Location | 99 Gansevoort Street, New York City |
Type | Art museum |
Visitors | 1,151,080 (2016)[1] |
Founder | Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney |
Director | Adam D. Weinberg |
Architect | Renzo Piano |
Website | whitney |
The Whitney has art from the United States created in the 20th and 21st centuries.[3] It was started with the collection of the founder, Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney. Whitney began collecting art in the 1920s. She started the museum in 1930. It was located in 3 connected row houses in Greenwich Village.[4]
After Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney died in 1942 her daughter Flora Payne Whitney (1897-1986) became the president of the museum.[5] When Flora Payne Whitney retired in 1974, her daughter Flora Miller Biddle became president. She served until 1995.[6]
The museum has moved several times since it was founded. The two main moves were in 1966 to Madison Avenue and in 2015 to Gansevoort Street.[2]