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 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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  • 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

  • Two firefighters passionately kiss in front of a towering brick building.
    Two firefighters passionately kiss in front of a towering brick building.

    Martin Wong, Big Heat, 1986. Acrylic on linen, overall: 60 1/8 × 48 1/8 in. (152.7 × 122.2 cm). Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; purchase, with funds from the Painting and Sculpture Committee 99.89. Courtesy of The Estate of Martin Wong and P.P.O.W. Gallery, New York, NY

  • Faceless mother and child with yellow halos, mother wearing red dress and pearls.
    Faceless mother and child with yellow halos, mother wearing red dress and pearls.

    Allan D'Arcangelo, Madonna and Child, 1963. Acrylic and gesso on canvas, overall: 68 1/2 × 60 1/8 in. (174 × 152.7 cm). Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; purchase, with funds from the Painting and Sculpture Committee 2013.2. © Estate of Allan D'Arcangelo / Licensed by VAGA at Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

  • Broad swaths of black, navy, gray, orange, and pink soar across a white canvas.
    Broad swaths of black, navy, gray, orange, and pink soar across a white canvas.

    Ed Clark, Winter Bitch, 1959. Acrylic, oil, and pastel on canvas, overall: 77 × 77 in. (195.6 × 195.6 cm). Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; purchase, with funds from the Painting and Sculpture Committee and partial gift of the artist 2019.307. © Ed Clark

  • A wall with a portrait of a Black woman, with additional portraits and hands holding a vase of lillies surrounding her.
    A wall with a portrait of a Black woman, with additional portraits and hands holding a vase of lillies surrounding her.

    Toyin Ojih Odutola, Wall of Ambassadors, 2017. Charcoal, pastel, and pencil on paper, sheet (sight): 38 1/2 × 29 7/8 in. (97.8 × 75.9 cm) Image (sight): 38 1/2 × 29 7/8 in. (97.8 × 75.9 cm). Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; purchase, with funds from the O’Grady Foundation 2018.101. © Toyin Ojih Odutola, courtesy Jack Shainman Gallery, New York

  • A grayish-white crater of hard, rough material drawn to a center point
    A grayish-white crater of hard, rough material drawn to a center point

    Jay DeFeo, The Rose, 1958–1966. Oil with wood and mica on canvas, overall: 128 7/8 × 92 1/4 × 11 in. (327.3 × 234.3 × 27.9 cm). Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; gift of The Jay DeFeo Foundation and purchase, with funds from the Contemporary Painting and Sculpture Committee and the Judith Rothschild Foundation 95.170. © The Jay DeFeo Foundation/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

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.