Displaying items by tag: gertrude vanderbilt whitney

Today, the Metropolitan Museum of Art announced its plans for the opening of The Met Breuer, the building formerly housing the Whitney Museum. With the Whitney's move into their brand new building at the edge of the High Line and opening this May, the Met has finally publicized its plans for its takeover of the old museum site. With an opening planned for March 10, 2016, the Met's contemporary and modern art department will feature multiple exhibitions and programs at the Breuer Building.

A boxy, drab concrete building, the Madison Avenue structure was designed by Hungarian Marcel Breuer and built in 1966 specifically to house the collection that Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney left behind.

The New York Studio School’s Whitney Studio in Greenwich Village has been designated a “National Treasure” by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, according to an announcement from the organization today. The building was constructed in 1877 as a carriage house but was converted by art patron Getrude Vanderbilt Whitney in 1907 into a studio and salon.

The Whitney Studio’s ornate interior was designed by Robert Winthrop Chanler, whom Whitney commissioned in 1918. Today, the structure and its decorative elements are badly in need of repair and restoration, with the New York Studio School estimating the cost of the project at $2.2 million.

The Whitney Museum of American Art in New York is giving thanks to generations of benefactors with the exhibition “Shaping a Collection: Five Decades of Gifts.” Since the institution was founded in 1930, its permanent collection has grown primarily through the generosity of individual donors, beginning with sculptor Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney’s founding gift, which included over 500 works by artists such as Thomas Hart Benton, George Bellows, Stuart Davis, Edward Hopper, Maurice Prendergast, and John Sloan. Whitney continued to add to the museum’s collection throughout her lifetime and in 1948, the institution began accepting gifts from outside sources.

Since the Whitney’s Marcel Breuer-designed building opened to the public in 1931, its permanent collection has expanded from about 2,300 objects to more than 21,000. It is estimated that nearly two-thirds of the institution’s collection, including some of its most iconic holdings, were donated by museum trustees, collectors, foundations, and artists. While “Shaping a Collection” represents a small portion of the gifts received by the Whitney, the exhibition honors all of the benefactors who have helped make the Whitney’s collection what it is today.

The Whitney Museum of American Art will open its new downtown Manhattan home next year with an exhibition of works from its permanent collection, followed by shows dedicated to artists including Archibald Motley and Frank Stella, museum officials said Thursday.

Officials made the announcement at the unfinished facility, offering a behind-the-scenes look as construction continues at the space next to the High Line elevated park and looking out on the Hudson River. The new museum, the Whitney's fourth home since it was founded in 1930, is expected to open in Spring 2015.