Circus Celebration  Sun, Nov 9, 2025, 11 am–4 pm

Circus Celebration 

Sun, Nov 9, 2025
11 am–4 pm

A handmade circus scene with a wire lion tamer holding a whip and a lion inside a cage on wheels.
A handmade circus scene with a wire lion tamer holding a whip and a lion inside a cage on wheels.

Alexander Calder, Lion Tamer, Lion and Cage from Calder's Circus, 1926-31. Wire, yarn, cloth, buttons, painted metal, wood, metal, leather and string, dimensions variable. Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; purchase with funds from a public fundraising campaign in May 1982. One half of 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 De Witt Wallace Fund, Incorporated; 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 83.36.34.1a-f. © 2025 Calder Foundation, New York / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Photograph by Jens Mortensen 

Tickets

Though admission is free, tickets are required and capacity is limited. Advance tickets are recommended.

Become a member today!

Join now to enjoy early access to exhibitions and events, unlimited free admission, guest privileges, and more.

Join now

The Susan and John Hess Family Theater is equipped with an induction loop and infrared assistive listening system. Accessible seating is available.

Learn more about access services and programs.

Floor 3, Theater

Open to all ages

Artists of all ages are invited to celebrate High Wire: Calder’s Circus at 100! Enjoy a day of artmaking, performances, stories, and more in honor of this iconic work from the Whitney’s collection. 


On the Hour

A 30-second online art project:
Maya Man, A Realistic Day In My Life Living In New York City

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.