A small vintage circus dancer puppet in a leaping pose on a red fringe-covered platform.
A small vintage circus dancer puppet in a leaping pose on a red fringe-covered platform.

Alexander Calder, Calder's Circus (detail), 1926-31 (installation view, High Wire: Calder’s Circus at 100, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, October 18, 2025–March 9, 2026). Wire, wood, metal, cloth, yarn, paper, cardboard, leather, string, rubber tubing, corks, buttons, rhinestones, pipe cleaners, and bottle caps, dimensions variable. Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; purchase with funds from a public fundraising campaign in May 1982. One half the funds were contributed by the Robert Wood Johnson Jr. Charitable Trust. Additional major donations were given by The Lauder Foundation; the Robert Lehman Foundation, Inc.; the Howard and Jean Lipman Foundation, Inc.; an anonymous donor; The T. M. Evans Foundation, Inc.; MacAndrews & Forbes Group, Incorporated; the DeWitt Wallace Fund, Inc.; Martin and Agneta Gruss; Anne Phillips; Mr. and Mrs. Laurance S. Rockefeller; the Simon Foundation, Inc.; Marylou Whitney; Bankers Trust Company; Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth N. Dayton; Joel and Anne Ehrenkranz; Irvin and Kenneth Feld; Flora Whitney Miller. More than 500 individuals from 26 states and abroad also contributed to the campaign 83.36.1-72. © 2026 Calder Foundation, New York / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Photograph by Gus Powell

Last chance

High Wire: Calder’s Circus at 100
Through Mar 9
Learn more about the exhibition Book Tickets
A large group of people dance together outdoors, raising their arms, while others watch and walk nearby.

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The Whitney Biennial 

The Whitney Biennial is the longest-running survey of American art, and has been a hallmark of the Museum since 1932. The current format—a survey show of work in all media occurring every two years—has been in place since 1973. Mark your calendars for the next iteration, opening March 2026. 

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artport

Check out art that's created specifically for the web on artport—the Whitney's gallery space for Internet and new-media art.

Dive Into Our Collection

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  • A deer skull with large antlers floats above a desert while colorful flowers bloom below.
    A deer skull with large antlers floats above a desert while colorful flowers bloom below.

    Georgia O'Keeffe, Summer Days, 1936. Oil on canvas, overall: 36 1/8 × 30 1/8 in. (91.8 × 76.5 cm). Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; gift of Calvin Klein 94.171. © Georgia O'Keeffe Museum / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

  • Woman with hair rollers looks over her shoulder while small paper curls are stuck to her face.
    Woman with hair rollers looks over her shoulder while small paper curls are stuck to her face.

    Hannah Wilke, S.O.S. Starification Object Series (Curlers), 1974. Gelatin silver print, sheet: 40 × 27 in. (101.6 × 68.6 cm) Image: 40 × 27 in. (101.6 × 68.6 cm) Mount (board): 40 × 27 × 1/16 in. (101.6 × 68.6 × 0.2 cm). Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; purchase, with funds from the Photography Committee and partial gift of Marsie, Emanuelle, Damon and Andrew Scharlatt 2005.33. © Marsie, Emanuelle, Damon and Andrew Scharlatt / Licensed by VAGA at Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

  • In a room extending across a diptych, a pensive Black woman sits at a table surrounded by pattered surfaces.
    In a room extending across a diptych, a pensive Black woman sits at a table surrounded by pattered surfaces.

    Njideka Akunyili Crosby, Portals, 2016. Acrylic, solvent transfer, collage of fabric and paper, and colored pencil on paper, overall: 83 5/8 × 206 in. (212.4 × 523.2 cm). Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; purchase, with funds from the Jacques and Natasha Gelman Foundation 2016.93a-b. © Njideka Akunyili Crosby

  • Camera on tripod faces a white wall collage showing a person's legs and small photos.
    Camera on tripod faces a white wall collage showing a person's legs and small photos.

    Paul Mpagi Sepuya, Self-Portrait Study with Roses at Night (1709), 2015. Inkjet print, sheet: 87 5/16 × 60 1/16 in. (221.8 × 152.6 cm) Image: 83 7/8 × 59 5/8 in. (213 × 151.4 cm). Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; purchase, with funds from the Photography Committee 2017.59. © Paul Mpagi Sepuya

  • People in a boat with blue ropes, wearing patterned clothing, appear thoughtful and somber.
    People in a boat with blue ropes, wearing patterned clothing, appear thoughtful and somber.

    Jacob Lawrence, War Series: Going Home, 1947. Tempera on composition board, overall: 16 1/8 × 20 3/16 in. (41 × 51.3 cm) Image: 15 7/8 × 20 1/16 × 1/8 in. (40.3 × 51 × 0.3 cm). Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; gift of Mr. and Mrs. Roy R. Neuberger 51.17a-b. © The Jacob and Gwendolyn Lawrence Foundation, Seattle / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

  • People in swimsuits sit under a pink umbrella on a beach, with a lifeguard standing nearby.
    People in swimsuits sit under a pink umbrella on a beach, with a lifeguard standing nearby.

    Jared French, State Park, 1946. Tempera on composition board, overall: 24 7/16 × 24 1/2 in. (62.1 × 62.2 cm). Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; gift of Mr. and Mrs. R. H. Donnelley Erdman 65.78

On the Hour

A 30-second online art project:
Frank WANG Yefeng, The Levitating Perils #2

Learn more about this project

Learn more at whitney.org/artport

On the Hour projects can contain motion and sound. To respect your accessibility settings autoplay is disabled.