Where We Are: Selections from the Whitney’s Collection, 1900–1960

Apr 28, 2017–June 2, 2019

Exhibition works

5 total
In a Euphoric Dream
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In a Euphoric Dream

Marsden Hartley (1877–1943), Painting, Number 5, 1914–15. Oil on linen, 39 1/4 × 32 in. (99.7 × 81.3 cm). Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; gift of an anonymous donor 58.65

In a Euphoric Dream

George Washington characterized the United States as a “great experiment,” but it also could be described as a collective dream—a gathering of diverse, and sometimes competing, aspirations, beliefs, symbols, and histories. Artists working in this country have looked to these symbols to study the nation’s history and their contemporary moment. Jasper Johns famously disclosed that the idea for painting an American flag came to him in a dream. The emblem remains potent and is part of our collective consciousness. Artists also have rendered the individuals—both unsung and eminent—who have fought for it. Daniel Chester French’s Standing Lincoln (1912) memorializes a figure whose actions during the Civil War guided how the United States might endure. In Herman Trunk Jr.’s 1932 depiction of Washington’s family home, Mount Vernon, the building is pulled apart to reveal another version within its walls. A surreal painting of a real place, it affirms that the dream and the reality of the nation are inseparable.

Marsden Hartley (1877–1943), Painting, Number 5, 1914–15. Oil on linen, 39 1/4 × 32 in. (99.7 × 81.3 cm). Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; gift of an anonymous donor 58.65

Marsden Hartley, Painting, Number 5, 1914 1915

Wood Gaylor (1883-1957), H.E.F. Auction, 1931. Oil and ink on paper, 24 1/8 × 40 1/8 in. (61.3 × 101.9 cm). Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; gift of Howard and Jean Lipman 80.48.2

Wood Gaylor, H.E.F. Auction, 1931

Ilse Bing (1899-1998), Play of Sounds, American Flag, 1931. Gelatin silver print: image, 11 1/8 x 8 3/4 in. (28.3 x 22.2 cm); mount (board), 16 3/8 x 13 5/8 in. (41.6 x 34.6 cm). Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; bequest of Ilse Bing Wolff 2001.396 © Wichita State University Foundation

Ilse Bing, Play of Sounds, American Flag, 1931

Installed as part of an earlier version of the exhibition.

Red building with green storefronts, a barber pole, and a fire hydrant on a sunny day with long shadows.
Red building with green storefronts, a barber pole, and a fire hydrant on a sunny day with long shadows.

Edward Hopper, Early Sunday Morning, 1930. Oil on canvas, 35 3/16 × 60 1/4 in. (89.4 × 153 cm). Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; purchase with funds from Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney 31.426. © Heirs of Josephine N. Hopper/Licensed by VAGA, New York, NY

Edward Hopper, Early Sunday Morning, 1930

Ellsworth Kelly (1923-2015), Red, White and Blue, 1961. Oil on linen, 88 1/4 × 66 9/16 in. (224.2 × 169.1 cm). Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; gift of Betty Parsons 70.1582 © Ellsworth Kelly

Ellsworth Kelly, Red, White and Blue, 1961

Installed as part of an earlier version of the exhibition.

Bernarda Bryson Shahn (1903-2004), 30,000,000 Immigrants, 1935‑1936, from The Vanishing American Frontier book. Lithograph: sheet, 11 5/16 × 16 in. (28.7 × 40.6 cm); image, 9 1/4 × 12 5/8 in. (23.5 × 32.1 cm). Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; gift of Jake Milgram Wien in honor of the 95th birthday of Bernarda Bryson Shahn 98.97.4 Art © Estate of Bernarda Bryson Shahn, licensed by VAGA, New York, N.Y.

Bernarda Bryson Shahn, 30,000,000 Immigrants, 1935‑1936

Installed as part of an earlier version of the exhibition.

Herman Trunk, Jr., (1894‑1963).  Mount Vernon, 1932.  Oil on canvas, 34 1/4 × 46 1/16in. (87 × 117 cm).  Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; purchase  33.26.  With Permission of The Herman Trunk, Jr. Foundation

Herman Trunk, Jr., Mount Vernon, 1932

Bronze statue of Abraham Lincoln looking downwards.
Bronze statue of Abraham Lincoln looking downwards.

Daniel Chester French (1850-1931), Standing Lincoln, 1912. Bronze, 37 1/2 x 10 3/8 in. (95.3 x 33 x 26.4 cm). Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; gift of Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney 31.25

Daniel Chester French, Standing Lincoln, 1912

Three American flags on top of each other.
Three American flags on top of each other.

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

Jasper Johns (b. 1930), Three Flags, 1958

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On the Hour

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Frank WANG Yefeng, The Levitating Perils #2

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