Where We Are: Selections from the Whitney’s Collection, 1900–1960
Apr 28, 2017–June 2, 2019
Focusing on works made from 1900 to 1960, Where We Are traces how artists have approached the relationships, institutions, and activities that shape our lives. Drawn entirely from the Whitney’s holdings, the exhibition is organized around five themes: family and community, work, home, the spiritual, and the nation. During the six decades covered here, the United States experienced war and peace, economic collapse and recovery, and social discord and progress. American artists responded in complex and diverse ways, and a central aim of the exhibition is to honor each artist’s efforts to create her or his own vision of American life. The artists and their works suggest that our sense of self is composed of our responsibilities, places, and beliefs.
Where We Are, as well as each of its sections, is titled after a phrase in W. H. Auden’s poem “September 1, 1939.” Auden, who was raised in England, wrote the poem in New York shortly after his immigration to the United States and at the very outset of World War II. The title of the poem marks the date Germany invaded Poland. While its subject is the beginning of the war, Auden’s true theme is how the shadow of a global emergency reaches into the far corners of everyday life. Although mournful, the poem concludes by pointing to the individual’s capacity to “show an affirming flame.” Where We Are shares Auden’s guarded optimism, gathering a constellation of artists whose light might lead us forward.
Where We Are is organized by David Breslin, DeMartini Family Curator and Director of the Collection, with Jennie Goldstein, assistant curator, and Margaret Kross, curatorial assistant.
Where We Are: Selections from the Whitney’s Collection, 1900–1960 is sponsored by
Artists
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Charles Henry Alston
1 work in the collection -
Diane Arbus
36 works in the collection -
Ruth Asawa
3 works in the collection -
George C. Ault
10 works in the collection -
Richmond Barthé
2 works in the collection -
Thomas Hart Benton
32 works in the collection -
Wallace Berman
13 works in the collection -
Henry Billings
7 works in the collection -
Ilse Bing
48 works in the collection -
Louise Bourgeois
32 works in the collection -
Margaret Bourke-White
12 works in the collection -
Bernarda Bryson Shahn
5 works in the collection -
Charles Burchfield
38 works in the collection -
Jacob Burck
1 work in the collection -
Paul Cadmus
11 works in the collection -
Alexander Calder
186 works in the collection -
James Castle
44 works in the collection -
Elizabeth Catlett
16 works in the collection -
Nicolai Cikovsky
1 work in the collection -
Richard Correll
8 works in the collection -
Ralston Crawford
229 works in the collection -
John Steuart Curry
13 works in the collection -
Jay DeFeo
31 works in the collection -
Charles Demuth
11 works in the collection -
Elsie Driggs
6 works in the collection -
Mabel Dwight
27 works in the collection -
Minnie Evans
3 works in the collection -
Walker Evans
16 works in the collection -
Andreas Feininger
79 works in the collection -
Robert Frank
26 works in the collection -
Daniel Chester French
1 work in the collection -
Jared French
29 works in the collection -
Margaret French
1 work in the collection -
(Samuel) Wood Gaylor
5 works in the collection -
Hugo Gellert
86 works in the collection -
William Glackens
9 works in the collection -
Arshile Gorky
11 works in the collection -
George Grosz
8 works in the collection -
Marsden Hartley
19 works in the collection -
Palmer Hayden
1 work in the collection -
Edward Hopper
3,151 works in the collection -
Victoria Hutson Huntley
8 works in the collection -
Jasper Johns
212 works in the collection -
Alex Katz
80 works in the collection -
Ellsworth Kelly
53 works in the collection -
Rockwell Kent
44 works in the collection -
Henry Koerner
4 works in the collection -
Dorothea Lange
3 works in the collection -
Jacob Lawrence
16 works in the collection -
Helen Levitt
12 works in the collection -
Roy Lichtenstein
448 works in the collection -
Jerome Liebling
10 works in the collection -
Morris Louis
4 works in the collection -
Louis Lozowick
49 works in the collection -
George Platt Lynes
4 works in the collection -
Kyra Markham
2 works in the collection -
Reginald Marsh
188 works in the collection -
Archibald John Motley, Jr.
1 work in the collection -
Alice Neel
11 works in the collection -
Barnett Newman
8 works in the collection -
Isamu Noguchi
17 works in the collection -
Georgia O'Keeffe
13 works in the collection -
PaJaMa
6 works in the collection -
Gordon Parks
7 works in the collection -
Agnes Pelton
2 works in the collection -
Joseph Pennell
5 works in the collection -
Fairfield Porter
11 works in the collection -
Larry Rivers
22 works in the collection -
Mark Rothko
7 works in the collection -
Edward Ruscha
563 works in the collection -
Katherine Schmidt
11 works in the collection -
Ben Shahn
13 works in the collection -
Charles Sheeler
31 works in the collection -
David Smith
26 works in the collection -
Isaac Soyer
2 works in the collection -
Raphael Soyer
50 works in the collection -
Edward Steichen
54 works in the collection -
Frank Stella
106 works in the collection -
Joseph Stella
21 works in the collection -
Florine Stettheimer
2 works in the collection -
Alfred Stieglitz
7 works in the collection -
Clyfford Still
3 works in the collection -
Paul Strand
9 works in the collection -
George Tooker
3 works in the collection -
Bill Traylor
2 works in the collection -
Herman Trunk, Jr.
1 work in the collection -
James B. Turnbull
1 work in the collection -
James Van Der Zee
8 works in the collection -
Abraham Walkowitz
31 works in the collection -
Andy Warhol
975 works in the collection -
Weegee
36 works in the collection -
Brett Weston
97 works in the collection -
Hale Aspacio Woodruff
10 works in the collection -
Andrew Wyeth
2 works in the collection
Videos
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Alice Neel, Andy Warhol | Video in American Sign Language
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Mark Rothko, Four Darks in Red | Video in American Sign Language
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Where He Was: Auden in America
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Jacob Lawrence, War Series | Video in American Sign Language
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Joseph Stella, The Brooklyn Bridge: Variation on an Old Theme | Video in American Sign Language
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Elsie Driggs, Pittsburgh | Video in American Sign Language
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Jared French, State Park | Video in American Sign Language
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Frank Stella, Die Fahne Hoch! | Video in American Sign Language
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James Castle | Video in American Sign Language
Events
View all-
Sat,
May 11Ethics of Looking
4:30 pm
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Sat,
May 4Ethics of Looking
4:30 pm
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Sat,
Apr 27Ethics of Looking
4:30 pm
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Sat,
Jan 12Whitney Signs: Where We Are: Selections from the Whitney’s Collection, 1900–1960
4–6 pm
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Wed,
Dec 5Member Night
7:30–10 pm
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Fri,
Oct 19Verbal Description and Touch Tour: Where We Are: Selections from the Whitney’s Collection, 1900–1960
10–11:30 am
Audio guides
Hear directly from artists and curators on selected works from Where We Are: Selections from the Whitney’s Collection, 1900–1960.
Installation Photography
Installation view of Where We Are: Selections from the Whitney’s Collection, 1900–1960 (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, April 28, 2017–June 2, 2019). From left to right, top to bottom: Jacob Lawrence, War Series: Prayer, 1947; Jacob Lawrence, War Series: Another Patrol, 1946; Jacob Lawrence, War Series: Shipping Out, 1947; Jacob Lawrence, War Series: Alert, 1947; Jacob Lawrence; War Series: The Letter, 1946; Jacob Lawrence, War Series: Docking – Cigarette, Joe?, 1947; Jacob Lawrence, War Series: On Leave, 1947. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
Installation view of Where We Are: Selections from the Whitney’s Collection, 1900–1960 (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, April 28, 2017–June 2, 2019). From left to right: Archibald Motley, Jr., Gettin’ Religion, 1948; John Steuart Curry, Baptism in Kansas, 1928; Thomas Hart Benton, Poker Night (from A Streetcar Named Desire), 1948; Jared French, State Park, 1946. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
Installation view of Where We Are: Selections from the Whitney’s Collection, 1900–1960 (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, April 28, 2017–June 2, 2019). From left to right, top to bottom: Jared French, State Park, 1946; Paul Cadmus, Finistere, 1952; Paul Cadmus, The Bath, 1951; PaJaMa, Margaret French, George Tooker and Jared French, Nantucket, c. 1946; James Van Der Zee, Atlantic City, 1930; PaJaMa, Chuck Howard and Ted Starkowski, 1953; Henry Koerner, Mirror of Life, 1946; Edward Hopper, A Woman in the Sun, 1961. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
Installation view of Where We Are: Selections from the Whitney’s Collection, 1900–1960 (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, April 28, 2017–June 2, 2019). From left to right: Jared French, State Park, 1946; Paul Cadmus, Finistere, 1952; Paul Cadmus, The Bath, 1951; Hugo Gellert, Learning to Think and Work Together, 1943; Hugo Gellert, Modern Science for All, 1943; Hugo Gellert, Title page, 1943; Hugo Gellert, The Four Freedoms, 1943; Hugo Gellert, Free Man’s Duties (#2), 1943; Hugo Gellert, Free Man’s Duties (#1), 1943; Hugo Gellert, Century of the Common Man, 1943. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
Installation view of Where We Are: Selections from the Whitney’s Collection, 1900–1960 (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, April 28, 2017–June 2, 2019). From left to right: Fairfield Porter, Portrait of Ted Carey and Andy Warhol, 1960; Jacob Lawrence, War Series: Prayer, 1947; Arshile Gorky, The Artist and His Mother, 1926–c.1936; Louise Bourgeois, Quarantania, 1941; Frank Stella, Die Fahne hoch!, 1959; Charles Henry Alston, The Family, 1955; Archibald Motley, Jr., Gettin’ Religion, 1948. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
Installation view of Where We Are: Selections from the Whitney’s Collection, 1900–1960 (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, April 28, 2017–June 2, 2019). From left to right, top to bottom: Dorothea Lange, Howard Street, San Francisco, 1934; Victoria Hutson Huntley, Kopper’s Coke, 1932; Kyra Markham, Lockout, 1937; Henry Billings, Machines and Men, 1931; Jerome Liebling, Grain Worker, Minneapolis, MN, 1950; Edward Hopper, Early Sunday Morning, 1930; Frank Stella, Die Fahne hoch!, 1959. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
Installation view of Where We Are: Selections from the Whitney’s Collection, 1900–1960 (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, April 28, 2017–June 2, 2019). From left to right, top to bottom: Larry Rivers, Washington Crossing the Delaware, 1960; Ilse Bing, Play of Sounds, American Flag, 1931; Daniel Chester French, Standing Lincoln, 1912; Joseph Pennell, Hail America, 1908, Bernada Bryson Shahn, 30,000,000 Immigrants, 1935–36; George Grosz, Waving the Flag, 1947–48; Diane Arbus, Max Maxwell Landar, Uncle Sam, N.Y.C., 1961; Jasper Johns, Flag Study, 1959; Andreas Feininger, U.S. Steel, Blooming Mill, 1944; Andreas Feininger, Drop Forge, 1944; Margaret Bourke-White, Industrial Rayon Corporation. Painesville, Ohio, 1939; Jared French, State Park, 1946. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
Installation view of Where We Are: Selections from the Whitney’s Collection, 1900–1960 (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, April 28, 2017–June 2, 2019). From left to right: Andrew Wyeth, Winter Fields, 1942; Walker Evans, Tengle Children, Hale County, Alabama, 1936; Clyfford Still, Untitled, 1956. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
Installation view of Where We Are: Selections from the Whitney’s Collection, 1900–1960 (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, April 28, 2017–June 2, 2019). From left to right: Clyfford Still, Untitled, 1956; Barnett Newman, Day One, 1951–1952; Richmond Barthé, African Dancer, 1933; Jay DeFeo, The Eyes, 1958. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
Installation view of Where We Are: Selections from the Whitney’s Collection, 1900–1960 (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, April 28, 2017–June 2, 2019). From left to right: Agnes Pelton, Untitled, 1931; Agnes Pelton, Sea Change; Georgia O’Keeffe, Music, Pink and Blue No. 2, 1918; Ruth Asawa, Number 1 – 1955, 1954, refabricated 1958. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
Installation view of Where We Are: Selections from the Whitney’s Collection, 1900–1960 (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, April 28, 2017–June 2, 2019). From left to right: Georgia O’Keeffe, Abstraction, 1926; Georgia O’Keeffe, It Was Blue and Green, 1960; Georgia O’Keeffe, Music, Pink and Blue No. 2, 1918. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
Installation view of Where We Are: Selections from the Whitney’s Collection, 1900–1960 (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, April 28, 2017–June 2, 2019). From left to right, top to bottom: Charles Sheeler, Geranium, c. 1926; Beauford Delaney, Untitled, 1948; Roy Lichtenstein, Bathroom, 1961; Alex Katz, Ada on Blue, 1959; Edward Steichen, Mr. and Mrs. Sandburg, Elmhurst, Illinois (Vanity Fair), 1923; Alice Neel, Blanche Angel Pregnant, 1937; James Van Der Zee, Cousin Susan Porter, 1915; Gordon Parks, Untitled, 1950; Fairfield Porter, Portrait of Ted Carey and Andy Warhol, 1960. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
Installation view of Where We Are: Selections from the Whitney’s Collection, 1900–1960 (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, April 28, 2017–June 2, 2019). From left to right, top to bottom: Charles Sheeler, Geranium, c. 1926; Beauford Delaney, Untitled, 1948; Charles Sheeler, Living Room of New York Apartment of Louise and Walter Arensberg (Southeast Corner), c. 1918; Charles Sheeler, Living Room of New York Apartment of Louise and Walter Arensberg (Northwest Corner), c. 1918; George C. Ault, The Artist at Work, 1946; Roy Lichtenstein, Bathroom, 1961; Bill Taylor, Man in Blue House with Rooster, 1939–1942; Mabel Dwight, The Survivor, Staten Island, 1929; Walker Evans, Westchester, New York, Farmhouse, 1931, printed 1971; Edward Hopper, Cape Cod Sunset, 1934. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
Installation view of Where We Are: Selections from the Whitney’s Collection, 1900–1960 (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, April 28, 2017–June 2, 2019). From left to right, top to bottom: James Castle, (Farm Scene with Road), c. 1910–1977; James Castle, (Farmscape), c. 1910–1977; James Castle, (House), c. 1910–1977; James Castle, (House and Shed), c. 1910–1977; James Castle, (Shed), c. 1910–1977; James Castle, (Interior with Stove), c. 1910–1977; James Castle, (Farmscape), c. 1910–1977; James Castle, (Two Trees), c. 1910–1977; James Castle, (Tree Forms in Landscape), c. 1910–1977; James Castle, (Landscapes with Columnar Forms), c. 1910–1977; James Castle, (Columnar Forms in Landscape), c. 1910–977; James Castle, (Landscape with Sculptural Elements), c. 1910–1977; James Castle, (Shed with Milk Separator), c. 1910–1977; James Castle, (Brown and Black Wall Construction), c. 1910–1977; James Castle, (3 Figures), c. 1910–1977; James Castle, (Studio), c. 1910–1977; James Castle, (Studio), c. 1910–1977. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
Installation view of Where We Are: Selections from the Whitney’s Collection, 1900–1960 (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, April 28, 2017– June 2, 2019). From left to right, top to bottom: James Castle, (Kingwood), c. 1910–1977; James Castle, PEAS, c. 1910–1977; James Castle, (South), c. 1910–1977; James Castle, (DelMonte Peas), c. 1910–1977; James Castle, (book), c. 1910–1977. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
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In the News
“This stunning installation organized by David Breslin with Jennie Goldstein and Margaret Kross depicts another tumultuous time in American history.”
—The Villager
"The show examines how American artists responded in complex and diverse ways to these events and to simultaneously honor each artist’s efforts to create her or his own vision of American life."
—Artinfo