API
The Whitney provides access to much of our public data through an API (application programming interface) in addition to our open access datasets. This includes artists and works from our online collection, and exhibitions and events. Data is most complete for more current records, with more limited information available pre-internet.
Data from the API is provided in JSON format via REST endpoints. The exact fields and their contents are subject to change, as they feed various pieces of whitney.org. Please be respectful in your use of the API so that it may remain a performant resource for anyone who wishes to use it.
Making something cool or have any questions? Let us know! Send us an email at: openaccess@whitney.org.
The data accessed through this API may be protected by copyright, and other restrictions, of the Whitney Museum of American Art and third parties. You may use this data for noncommercial educational and personal use and for "fair use" as authorized under law, provided that you also retain all copyright and other proprietary notices contained on the materials and cite the author and source of the materials.
Getting started
API's provide structured, programmatic access to information for the purpose of building software. The Whitney's API provides access to all of our most important record types through different endpoints. Generally results will include information like titles, names, dates, descriptions, and other relevant metadata, roughly following the JSON API specification.
Examples
A list of all artists can be accessed through the following URL:
https://whitney.org/api/artists
To access an individual artist, like for example Georgia O'Keeffe, append the ID of the artists to the same endpoint:
https://whitney.org/api/artists/962
To access deeper pages of long lists of content, a page parameter can be added to the query:
https://whitney.org/api/artists?page=2
Alternatively in the JSON results there should be a object called links that contains prev, next, first, and last entries with URLs for each of those respective pages if they are available.
All endpoints
Artists
All artists publicly listed artists on whitney.org/artists, which includes artists who have had work collected by the Whitney, and artists who have been in exhibitions put on by the Museum.
https://whitney.org/api/artists
Artworks
All works collected and publicly released to the online collection.
https://whitney.org/api/artworks
Exhibitions
A non-comprehensive list of exhibitions put on by the Museum, with more complete records in recent decades.
https://whitney.org/api/exhibitions
Events
A largely comprehensive list of all events put on by the Museum going back to 2008. This includes events like talks, tours, and public programs among others.
https://whitney.org/api/events
Guides
All audio guides and their stops published by the Museum since 2009.
https://whitney.org/api/guides
To access stops for any given guide, you must supply an ID number in your query, e.g.:
https://whitney.org/guides/52
Pages
All published pages on whitney.org. In this case "pages" means anything on the site that does not fall into more structured data types like exhibitions or events, i.e. random pages on the site. Responses are very specific to the organization and behavior of our CMS, and are likely not useful for anyone else.
https://whitney.org/api/pages