American Legends: From Calder to O’Keeffe
Dec 22, 2012–June 29, 2014
American Legends: From Calder to O’Keeffe showcases the Whitney’s holdings of artwork from the first half of the twentieth century alongside that of postwar figures. The exhibition includes work by thirteen leading artists: Alexander Calder, Stuart Davis, Burgoyne Diller, William Eggleston, Morris Graves, Edward Hopper, Jasper Johns, Ellsworth Kelly, Jacob Lawrence, Roy Lichtenstein, Elie Nadelman, Alice Neel, and Georgia O’Keeffe. One- and two-artist presentations provide a survey of each artist’s work across a range of media.
American Legends is organized by Barbara Haskell, Curator.
Ongoing support for the permanent collection and major support for American Legends: From Calder to O'Keeffe is provided by Bank of America.
Additional support for American Legends is provided by Susan R.Malloy, The Gage Fund, and Lynn G. Straus.
Artworks
![Painting of men surrounding a man in pain.](https://whitneymedia.org/assets/image/809060/large_36.32_cadmus.jpg)
Paul Cadmus, To the Lynching!, 1935. Graphite and watercolor on paper, 23 1/2 × 18 in. (59.7 × 45.7 cm). Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; purchase 36.32
![Painting of men surrounding a man in pain.](https://whitneymedia.org/assets/image/809060/large_36.32_cadmus.jpg)
![Sailors and lovers in an abandoned park.](https://whitneymedia.org/assets/image/688071/64.42a-b_cadmus_paul.png)
Paul Cadmus, Sailors and Floosies, 1938. Oil and tempera on linen mounted on composition board, with wood frame, 33 11/16 × 48 1/2 in. (85.6 × 123.2 cm). Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; gift of Malcolm S. Forbes 64.42a–b Art © Jon F. Anderson, Estate of Paul Cadmus / Licensed by VAGA, New York, N.Y.
![Sailors and lovers in an abandoned park.](https://whitneymedia.org/assets/image/688071/64.42a-b_cadmus_paul.png)
![Miniature circus scene.](https://whitneymedia.org/assets/image/808988/large_83.36.1-95_calder_imageprimacy_v1.jpg)
Alexander Calder, Calder’s Circus, 1926–31. Wire, wood, metal, cloth, yarn, paper, cardboard, leather, string, rubber tubing, corks, buttons, rhinestones, pipe cleaners, and bottle caps, 54 × 94 1/4 × 94 1/4 in. (137.2 × 239.4 × 239.4 cm) overall, 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 83.36.1-95
© 2009 Calder Foundation, New York / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York; photograph © Whitney Museum of American Art.
![Miniature circus scene.](https://whitneymedia.org/assets/image/808988/large_83.36.1-95_calder_imageprimacy_v1.jpg)
![Portrait of a face by Calder.](https://whitneymedia.org/assets/image/808810/large_80.25_calder_imageprimacy.jpg)
Alexander Calder (1898-1976), Varèse, c. 1930. Wire, 15 × 11 3/4 × 12 1/2 in. (38.1 × 29.8 × 31.8 cm). Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; 50th Anniversary Gift of Mrs. Louise Varèse in honor of Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney 80.25 © Calder Foundation, New York / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
![Portrait of a face by Calder.](https://whitneymedia.org/assets/image/808810/large_80.25_calder_imageprimacy.jpg)
![Steel sculpture with red circles attached to it by Alexander Calder.](https://whitneymedia.org/assets/image/809064/large_86.49a-c_calder.jpg)
Alexander Calder, Object with Red Discs, 1931. Painted steel rod, wire, wood, and sheet aluminum, 88 1/2 × 33 × 47 1/2 in. (224.8 × 83.8 × 120.7 cm) overall. Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; purchase with funds from the Mrs. Percy Uris Purchase Fund 86.49a-c
© 2009 Calder Foundation, New York / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
![Steel sculpture with red circles attached to it by Alexander Calder.](https://whitneymedia.org/assets/image/809064/large_86.49a-c_calder.jpg)
![Drawing of a circus performer by Alexander Calder.](https://whitneymedia.org/assets/image/809065/large_81.23.2_calder.jpg)
Alexander Calder, Juggler with Dog, 1931. Pen and ink on paper, 22 3/4 × 30 13/16 in. (57.8 × 78.3 cm). Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; gift of Howard and Jean Lipman 81.23.2
© 2009 Calder Foundation, New York / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
![Drawing of a circus performer by Alexander Calder.](https://whitneymedia.org/assets/image/809065/large_81.23.2_calder.jpg)
![A wooden bottle sculpture by Alexander Calder.](https://whitneymedia.org/assets/image/809066/large_80.28.2a-l_calder.jpg)
Alexander Calder, Wooden Bottle with Hairs, 1943. Wood and wire, 22 3/8 × 13 × 12 in. (56.8 × 33 × 30.5 cm) overall. Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; 50th Anniversary Gift of the Howard and Jean Lipman Foundation, Inc. 80.28.2a-l
© 2009 Calder Foundation, New York / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
![A wooden bottle sculpture by Alexander Calder.](https://whitneymedia.org/assets/image/809066/large_80.28.2a-l_calder.jpg)
![Artwork of four wine glasses by Joseph Cornell.](https://whitneymedia.org/assets/image/809067/92.24a-k_cornell_imageprimacy.png)
Joseph Cornell, Celestial Navigation, c. 1958. Box construction with wood, glasses, marbles, plaster head, painted cork ball, metal rods, nails, paper collage, tempera, and painted glass, 9 5/8 × 16 1/4 × 4 in. (24.5 × 41.3 × 10.2 cm) overall. Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; 60th Anniversary Gift of Estée Lauder Inc. 92.24a-k
Art © The Joseph and Robert Cornell Memorial Foundation / Licensed by VAGA, New York, NY
![Artwork of four wine glasses by Joseph Cornell.](https://whitneymedia.org/assets/image/809067/92.24a-k_cornell_imageprimacy.png)
![A steel beam that held up the Third Avenue elevated subway line.](https://whitneymedia.org/assets/image/809069/large_88.52_crawford.jpg)
Ralston Crawford, Third Avenue Elevated, 1949. Gelatin silver print, 9 1/2 × 6 1/2 in. (24.1 × 16.5 cm). Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; gift of Robert F. Crawford 88.52
![A steel beam that held up the Third Avenue elevated subway line.](https://whitneymedia.org/assets/image/809069/large_88.52_crawford.jpg)
![Abstract artwork with a yellow background.](https://whitneymedia.org/assets/image/809071/large_52.2_davis_imageprimacy.jpg)
Stuart Davis, Owh! in San Paõ, 1951. Oil on canvas, 52 1/4 × 41 3/4 in. (132.7 × 106 cm). Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; purchase 52.2
Art © Estate of Stuart Davis / Licensed by VAGA, New York, NY
![Abstract artwork with a yellow background.](https://whitneymedia.org/assets/image/809071/large_52.2_davis_imageprimacy.jpg)
![Artwork by Chares Demuth featuring people in a room.](https://whitneymedia.org/assets/image/809073/68.16_demuth-imageprimacy_800px.png)
Charles Demuth, Distinguished Air, 1930. Watercolor and graphite on paper, 16 1/4 × 12 3/16 in. (41.3 × 31 cm). Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; purchase with funds from the Friends of the Whitney Museum of American Art and Charles Simon 68.16
![Artwork by Chares Demuth featuring people in a room.](https://whitneymedia.org/assets/image/809073/68.16_demuth-imageprimacy_800px.png)
![A man climbs up the steps beneath gravestones.](https://whitneymedia.org/assets/image/809075/large_43.14_lawrence.jpg)
Jacob Lawrence, Tombstones, 1942. Gouache on paper, 30 7/8 × 22 13/16 in. (78.4 × 57.9 cm). Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; purchase 43.14
© 2010 The Jacob and Gwendolyn Lawrence Foundation, Seattle / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
![A man climbs up the steps beneath gravestones.](https://whitneymedia.org/assets/image/809075/large_43.14_lawrence.jpg)
![Abstract art by Jacob Lawrence.](https://whitneymedia.org/assets/image/809078/large_51.9_lawrence_imageprimacy.jpg)
Jacob Lawrence, War Series: Alert, 1947. Egg tempera on composition board, 20 × 16 in. (50.8 × 40.6 cm). Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; gift of Mr. and Mrs. Roy R. Neuberger 51.9
© 2009 The Jacob and Gwendolyn Lawrence Foundation, Seattle / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
![Abstract art by Jacob Lawrence.](https://whitneymedia.org/assets/image/809078/large_51.9_lawrence_imageprimacy.jpg)
![Abstract artwork of soldiers by Jacob Lawrence.](https://whitneymedia.org/assets/image/809079/large_51.13_lawrence_imageprimacy.jpg)
Jacob Lawrence, War Series: Beachhead, 1947. Egg tempera on composition board, 16 × 20 in. (40.6 × 50.8 cm). Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; gift of Mr. and Mrs. Roy R. Neuberger 51.13
© 2009 The Jacob and Gwendolyn Lawrence Foundation, Seattle / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
![Abstract artwork of soldiers by Jacob Lawrence.](https://whitneymedia.org/assets/image/809079/large_51.13_lawrence_imageprimacy.jpg)
![A soldier with a helmet and a gun bending over.](https://whitneymedia.org/assets/image/809081/large_51.19_lawrence_imageprimacy.jpg)
Jacob Lawrence, War Series: Victory, 1947. Tempera on composition board, 20 1/4 × 16 3/16 in. (51.4 × 41.1 cm). Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; gift of Mr. and Mrs. Roy R. Neuberger 51.19 © 2017 The Jacob and Gwendolyn Lawrence Foundation, Seattle/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York, NY
![A soldier with a helmet and a gun bending over.](https://whitneymedia.org/assets/image/809081/large_51.19_lawrence_imageprimacy.jpg)
![A group of people on the beach.](https://whitneymedia.org/assets/image/809082/large_61.2_marsh.jpg)
Reginald Marsh, Negroes on Rockaway Beach, 1934. Egg tempera on composition board, 30 × 40 in. (76.2 x 101.6 cm). Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; gift of Mr. and Mrs. Albert Hackett 61.2
© 2010 Estate of Reginald Marsh / Art Students League, New York / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
![A group of people on the beach.](https://whitneymedia.org/assets/image/809082/large_61.2_marsh.jpg)
![A sculpture of a man and woman dancing.](https://whitneymedia.org/assets/image/809083/large_88.1a-c_nadelman_imageprimacy_compressed.jpg)
Elie Nadelman, Tango, 1920–24. Painted cherry wood and gesso, three units, 35 7/8 × 26 × 13 7/8 in. (91.1 × 66 × 35.2 cm) overall. 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
![A sculpture of a man and woman dancing.](https://whitneymedia.org/assets/image/809083/large_88.1a-c_nadelman_imageprimacy_compressed.jpg)
![Up close of a flower painting by Georgia O'Keeffe.](https://whitneymedia.org/assets/image/809085/large_okeeffe_flower-abstraction.jpg)
Georgia O’Keeffe, Flower Abstraction, 1924. Oil on canvas, 48 × 30 in. (121.9 × 76.2 cm). Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; 50th Anniversary Gift of Sandra Payson 85.47
© 2009 Georgia O’Keeffe Museum / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
![Up close of a flower painting by Georgia O'Keeffe.](https://whitneymedia.org/assets/image/809085/large_okeeffe_flower-abstraction.jpg)
![Painting of an amusement park.](https://whitneymedia.org/assets/image/809086/large_72.147_stella_j.jpg)
Joseph Stella, Luna Park, c. 1913. Oil on composition board, 17 1/2 × 23 3/8 in. (44.5 x 59.4 cm). Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; gift of Mrs. Charles A. Goldberg 72.147
![Painting of an amusement park.](https://whitneymedia.org/assets/image/809086/large_72.147_stella_j.jpg)
![An animal sits at the center of an abstract artwork.](https://whitneymedia.org/assets/image/809088/large_52.37_hartley.jpg)
Marsden Hartley, Forms Abstracted, 1913. Oil on canvas, 39 1/2 × 31 3/4 in. (100.3 x 80.7 cm). Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; gift of Mr. and Mrs. Hudson D. Walker and exchange 52.37
![An animal sits at the center of an abstract artwork.](https://whitneymedia.org/assets/image/809088/large_52.37_hartley.jpg)
![A shirtless man poses in painting with a red background.](https://whitneymedia.org/assets/image/809090/large_2005.89_hartley_imageprimacy_compressed.jpg)
Marsden Hartley, Madawaska, Acadian Light-Heavy, Third Arrangement, 1940. Oil on masonite, 27 7/8 × 21 1/2 in. (70.8 × 54.6 cm). Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; gift of Nina and Herman Schneider, Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney, Dr. Meyer A. Pearlman and Purchase by exchange, and the Director’s Discretionary Acquisition Fund 2005.89
![A shirtless man poses in painting with a red background.](https://whitneymedia.org/assets/image/809090/large_2005.89_hartley_imageprimacy_compressed.jpg)
![Plants and flowers next to a fence and house.](https://whitneymedia.org/assets/image/809091/large_31.408_brurchfield_imageprimacy_649.jpg)
Charles Burchfield, Noontide in Late May, 1917. Watercolor, gouache, and graphite on paper, 22 × 18 in. (55.9 × 45.7 cm). Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; purchase 31.408
All works by Charles Burchfield are reproduced with permission of the Charles E. Burchfield Foundation
![Plants and flowers next to a fence and house.](https://whitneymedia.org/assets/image/809091/large_31.408_brurchfield_imageprimacy_649.jpg)
![Abstract art depicting Brooklyn.](https://whitneymedia.org/assets/image/809095/large_49.8_marin_imageprimacy_compressed.jpg)
John Marin, Region of Brooklyn Bridge Fantasy, 1932. Watercolor on paper, 22 × 28 3/16 in. (55.9 × 71.6 cm). Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; purchase 49.8
© 2009 Estate of John Marin / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
![Abstract art depicting Brooklyn.](https://whitneymedia.org/assets/image/809095/large_49.8_marin_imageprimacy_compressed.jpg)
![Newspaper collage of a man in a top hat.](https://whitneymedia.org/assets/image/809097/large_76.9_dove.jpg)
Arthur Dove, The Critic, 1925. Collaged paper, newspaper, fabric, cord, glass, pencil, and watercolor on board, 19 1/2 × 13 × 2 1/4 in. (49.5 × 33 × 5.7 cm). Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; purchase with funds from the Historic Art Association of the Whitney Museum of American Art, Mr. and Mrs. Morton L. Janklow, the Howard and Jean Lipman Foundation Inc., and Hannelore Schulhof 76.9 © The Estate of Arthur G. Dove
![Newspaper collage of a man in a top hat.](https://whitneymedia.org/assets/image/809097/large_76.9_dove.jpg)
![Drawing of a circus scene.](https://whitneymedia.org/assets/image/809098/large_81.23.4_calder.jpg)
Alexander Calder, Tumbler on Swing, 1931. Pen and ink on paper, 30 1/2 × 22 1/2 in. (77.5 × 57.2 cm). Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; gift of Howard and Jean Lipman 81.23.4
© 2010 Calder Foundation, New York / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
![Drawing of a circus scene.](https://whitneymedia.org/assets/image/809098/large_81.23.4_calder.jpg)
![A man sitting on the edge of a bed.](https://whitneymedia.org/assets/image/809100/large_91.100.3_eggleston_imageprimacy_compressed.jpg)
William Eggleston, Huntsville, Alabama, 1971, from William Eggleston’s Guide, 1976. Chromogenic print, 18 1/4 × 12 3/4 in. (46.4 × 32.4 cm). Edition no. 3/20. Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; gift of Virginia M. Zabriskie 91.100.3
© Eggleston Artistic Trust, courtesy Cheim & Read, NYC
![A man sitting on the edge of a bed.](https://whitneymedia.org/assets/image/809100/large_91.100.3_eggleston_imageprimacy_compressed.jpg)
![Three people in a supermarket aisle.](https://whitneymedia.org/assets/image/809101/large_2009_101_eggleston-web.jpg)
William Eggleston, Untitled (Grocery Store), c.1965-1974. Dye transfer print. Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; purchase, with funds from Marcia Dunn and Jonathan Sobel 2009.101
![Three people in a supermarket aisle.](https://whitneymedia.org/assets/image/809101/large_2009_101_eggleston-web.jpg)
![Charcoal drawing on paper of a large spiral.](https://whitneymedia.org/assets/image/820527/large_85_52_cropped.jpg)
Georgia O'Keeffe (1887–1986), No. 8 - Special (Drawing No. 8), 1916. Charcoal on paper, 24 1/2 x 18 7/8 in. (62.2 x 47.9 cm). Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; purchase with funds from the Mr. and Mrs. Arthur G. Altschul Purchase Fund 85.52. © 2018 The Georgia O'Keeffe Foundation/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
![Charcoal drawing on paper of a large spiral.](https://whitneymedia.org/assets/image/820527/large_85_52_cropped.jpg)
![Three American flags on top of each other.](https://whitneymedia.org/assets/image/809104/large_80.32_johns_imageprimacy.jpg)
Jasper Johns, Three Flags, 1958. Encaustic on canvas (three panels), 30 7/8 × 45 3/4 in. (78.4 × 116.2 cm) overall. Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; purchase, with funds from the Gilman Foundation, Inc., The Lauder Foundation, A. Alfred Taubman, Laura-Lee Whittier Woods, Howard Lipman, and Ed Downe in honor of the Museum’s 50th Anniversary 80.32. © 2021 Jasper Johns / Licensed by VAGA at Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
![Three American flags on top of each other.](https://whitneymedia.org/assets/image/809104/large_80.32_johns_imageprimacy.jpg)
Artists
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Oscar Bluemner
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Charles Burchfield
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Paul Cadmus
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Alexander Calder
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Joseph Cornell
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Ralston Crawford
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Stuart Davis
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Charles Demuth
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Burgoyne Diller
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Arthur Dove
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William Eggleston
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Morris Graves
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Marsden Hartley
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Edward Hopper
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Jasper Johns
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Ellsworth Kelly
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Gaston Lachaise
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Jacob Lawrence
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Roy Lichtenstein
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John Marin
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Reginald Marsh
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Elie Nadelman
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Alice Neel
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Georgia O'Keeffe
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Joseph Stella
Events
View all-
Wed,
July 16Member Preview Day
12–6 pm
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Sat,
May 17Member Saturday Night
6:30–8:30 pm
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Sat,
Mar 15Member Saturday Night
6:30–8:30 pm
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Fri,
Feb 28Teen Event:
Clash of the Legends4:30–6:30 pm
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Mon,
Feb 10Special Tour: American Legends Reimagined
7 pm
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Sat,
Feb 8Family Fun Art Workshop: Communicating Character
1:30–3:30 pm
Audio guides
This audio guide highlights selected works by artists in American Legends: From Calder to O’Keeffe. Curators, scholars, and artists provide additional commentary.
Installation Photography
Explore works from this exhibition
in the Whitney's collection
View 308 works
In the News
"The Whitney Museum is New York’s go-to institution for the crazy-quilt history of early- and mid-20th-century American art, and its new permanent-collection display, American Legends: From Calder to O’Keeffe, is one of its best in years."
—The New York Times
"Ranging from Edward Hopper’s melancholia to the sensuous work of Georgia O’Keeffe, the exhibition offers an extraordinarily wide view of 20th-century American art before Abstract Expressionism."
—Bloomberg Businessweek