Winter at the Whitney
A Seasonal Guide
Our favorite ways to get festive and celebrate the season at the Whitney.
Spirit of the Season
Winter Playlist
Get cozy and relax to the sounds of the season. We surveyed Whitney staff and put together our favorite winter tunes. It is our musical gift to you.
Twinkling City Lights
Evening terrace views, Floors 5, 6, 7, and 8
There’s no better place to admire the city’s twinkling lights than atop one of the Whitney’s terraces. Soak in panoramic views and make sure to look up. Nancy Baker Cahill: CENTO, a monumental augmented reality “creature,” drifts through the air above the terrace on Floor 8.
A Taste of Winter
Frenchette Bakery at the Whitney, Floor 1
Come in from the cold and warm up with a hot beverage at Frenchette Bakery at the Whitney. Relax in velvety upholstered booths, breathe in the smell of freshly baked bread, and observe the holiday hustle and bustle of the Meatpacking district through the floor-to-ceiling windows in our newly-opened restaurant (Whitney Members receive a 10% discount). You'll see a new artwork by Rashid Johnson too—New Poetry, a steel-grid sculpture laden with plants and ceramics, extends from within the cafe out onto the plaza.
Hoppers for Every Season
Treasures from our Edward Hopper collection, Floor 7 and online
Hopper’s relationship with the Whitney began in 1920 when the then-unknown artist received his first-ever solo exhibition. Today, the Museum is the largest repository of Hopper’s artwork in the world. Much of the collection can be browsed online, and we always have Hopper’s works hanging on Floor 7, too. In fact, we just installed a new lineup of Hoppers—swing by and check them out.
Immortalize the New Year
Photo booth and mini print vending machine at the Whitney Shop
There are very few film photo booths left in New York, but we’ve got one of them. Stop by the Whitney Shop to immortalize the new year the old-fashioned way. While you’re here, check out artist Ana Inciardi’s newly installed mini print vending machine. Insert four quarters and receive a surprise lino print inspired by the city: a bagel, a slice of pizza, and a bodega cat, to name just a few. Whimsical and wacky, these mini prints are fabulous (and affordable at just $1).
Installation view of The Whitney’s Collection: Selections from 1900 to 1965 (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, June 28, 2019–). Ed Clark, Winter Bitch, 1959
Commiserate the Cold
Winter Bitch by Ed Clark, Floor 7
While the title of this painting, Winter Bitch, refers to a particularly frigid winter spent in Paris, Ed Clark has conceded that several people in his life have questioned if it is actually about them, ha! In Clark’s defense, the colors have an icy hue, and the enormous brushstrokes—a record of the artist’s bodily force and sweeping gestures—evoke the physical effort required to move through a city in winter. Clark made Winter Bitch using a wide housepainter’s brush but he famously painted using push brooms too, over canvases placed on the floor.
Installation view of Alexander Calder's Calder's Circus, 1926–1931. Photograph by Max Touhey
A Visit to Toyland
Calder's Circus, Floor 7
It’s not hard to imagine that when the Museum closes, Calder’s Circus comes to life. This exuberant artwork inspires awe and wonder in children and adults alike. The miniature circus troupe includes animals, clowns, acrobats, and more than one hundred tiny props like nets, flags, carpets, lamps, and musical instruments. In the galleries, watch Alexander Calder perform the work for friends and colleagues, who ate peanuts and used noisemakers while the artist moved the tiny figures and narrated the actions. Calder’s Circus is also an example of the artist’s early exploration of movement—a defining characteristic of his later works.
Installation view of The Whitney’s Collection: Selections from 1900 to 1965 (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, June 28, 2019–). Claes Oldenburg, Giant Fagends, 1967
New Year, New You
Claes Oldenburg’s monument to new beginnings, Floor 7
With a new year comes a new beginning and the opportunity to kick old habits once and for all. This enormous soft sculpture by Claes Oldenburg stands as a monumental reminder to set and keep a New Year’s resolution. The work is so oversized and the surface so supple that the curled and crumpled forms of the discarded cigarettes feel almost human. Are these cigarette butts or the bodies that consumed them? If only we all had a reminder as formidable as this one to keep us on track!
