First Biennial Exhibition of Contemporary American Painting

Nov 22, 1932–Jan 5, 1933

View the full exhibition catalogue at the Internet Archive.

Press Highlights

“. . . one thing that makes the Whitney biennial so peculiarly attractive is just the sense of inexhaustible surprise . . .” —The New York Times

“Above all else [. . .] the museum is to be congratulated on having assembled so broad a survey of painting in this country.” —The New York Times

“. . . a panorama of what is going on in American painting today.” —The American Magazine of Art

“. . . a catholic gathering of contemporary tendencies . . .” —The American Magazine of Art

“The representation in this exhibition is sectional, covering the country from the East Coast to the West and from the Canada border to Mexico [. . .] a general survey of American art of today will be given.” —Evening Star

The Whitney Museum in NYC with the One World Trade Center in the background, viewed from a riverside walkway on a sunny day.

More from this series

Learn more about the Whitney Biennial, the longest-running survey of American art.

Installation photography

Installation view of First Biennial Exhibition of Contemporary American Painting (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, November 22, 1932–January 5, 1933)
Installation view of the First Biennial Exhibition of Contemporary American Painting (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, November 22, 1932–January 5, 1933). From left to right: Theresa Pollak, Summac; Edward Lanning, Fourteenth Street; Bernard Karfiol, Miss B.N.; Arnold Blanche, Landscape. Photograph by Samuel H. Gottscho
Installation view of the First Biennial Exhibition of Contemporary American Painting (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, November 22, 1932–January 5, 1933). From left to right: Abraham Walkowitz, From My Window; Louis Bouche, Stamford Harbor; Max Weber, Interior With Still Life; Louis Eilshemius, Delaware Water Gap Village; A.S. Baylinson, Eternal Woman. Photograph by Samuel H. Gottscho
Installation view of the First Biennial Exhibition of Contemporary American Painting (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, November 22, 1932–January 5, 1933). From left to right: Harry Gottlieb, On the Balcony; Charles Logassa, Study for Pole Vaulter; Edward Bruce, San Luis Obispo; Jerome Meyers, Vaudville; Jean Crawford Adams, Plowing; Andrew Dasburg, Merganser. Photograph by Samuel H. Gottscho
Installation view of the First Biennial Exhibition of Contemporary American Painting (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, November 22, 1932–January 5, 1933). From left to right: Anatol Shulkin, Kentucky Yarn; Florence Ballin-Chamer, Landscape; Henri Burkhard, Three Men; Sidney Laufman, Behind The Village; Richard Lahey, Carlotta in Rose Dress. Photograph by Samuel H. Gottscho
Installation view of the First Biennial Exhibition of Contemporary American Painting (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, November 22, 1932–January 5, 1933). From left to right: Ernest Lawson, Baseball Park; Isabel Bishop, Combing Her Hair; John Cunning, Sunset—New York Bay; George Biddle, His First Crossing. Photograph by Samuel H. Gottscho