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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  • Six candid portraits show people smoking, talking, embracing, and resting in intimate indoor settings.
    Six candid portraits show people smoking, talking, embracing, and resting in intimate indoor settings.

    Nan Goldin, The Ballad of Sexual Dependency, 1979–1996. Slide installation with 690 35mm color slides, sound, 45 min. looped, dimensions variable. Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; purchase, with funds from The Charles Engelhard Foundation, the Mrs. Percy Uris Bequest, the Painting and Sculpture Committee and the Photography Committee 92.127. © Nan Goldin

  • Strings of hanging light bulbs cascade down a stairwell, with several bulbs coiled on the floor.
    Strings of hanging light bulbs cascade down a stairwell, with several bulbs coiled on the floor.

    Felix Gonzalez-Torres, "Untitled" (America), 1994. Twelve parts, each: 42 light bulbs, waterproof rubber light sockets, and waterproof electrical cord, dimensions variable . Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; purchase, with funds from the Contemporary Painting and Sculpture Committee 96.74.1a-l. © The Felix Gonzalez-Torres Foundation, Courtesy of Andrea Rosen Gallery, New York

  • Andy Warhol sits shirtless on a bench with his eyes closed, his skin pale and his torso scarred. A supportive corset fits snuggly around his waist.
    Andy Warhol sits shirtless on a bench with his eyes closed, his skin pale and his torso scarred. A supportive corset fits snuggly around his waist.

    Alice Neel, Andy Warhol, 1970. Oil and acrylic on linen, overall: 60 × 40 in. (152.4 × 101.6 cm). Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; gift of Timothy Collins 80.52. © The Estate of Alice Neel. Courtesy The Estate of Alice Neel and David Zwirner

  • Large gray geometric blocks arranged in angular formation against black walls with radiating white lines.
    Large gray geometric blocks arranged in angular formation against black walls with radiating white lines.

    Robert Morris, Untitled (3 Ls), 1965 refabricated 1970. Stainless steel, dimensions variable. Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; gift of Howard and Jean Lipman 76.29a-c. © Robert Morris/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

  • A painted wooden sculpture of a man and woman reaching hands as if dancing on a pedestal.
    A painted wooden sculpture of a man and woman reaching hands as if dancing on a pedestal.

    Elie Nadelman, Tango, c. 1920–1924. Painted and gessoed cherry wood, overall: 36 × 25 5/8 × 13 7/8 in. (91.4 × 65.1 × 35.2 cm). Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; purchase, with funds from the Mr. and Mrs. Arthur G. Altschul Purchase Fund, the Joan and Lester Avnet Purchase Fund, the Edgar William and Bernice Chrysler Garbisch Purchase Fund, the Mrs. Robert C. Graham Purchase Fund in honor of John I.H. Baur, the Mrs. Percy Uris Purchase Fund and the Henry Schnakenberg Purchase Fund in honor of Juliana Force 88.1a-c. © Estate of Elie Nedelman

  • 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

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.