Where We Are: Selections from the Whitney’s Collection, 1900–1960
Apr 28, 2017–June 2, 2019
Charles Demuth (1883‑1935), Buildings, Lancaster, 1930. Oil and graphite pencil on composition board, 24 1/8 × 20 1/8in. (61.3 × 51.1 cm). Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; gift of an anonymous donor 58.63
Focusing on works made from 1900 to 1960, Where We Are traces how artists have approached the relationships, institutions, and activities that shape our lives. Drawn entirely from the Whitney’s holdings, the exhibition is organized around five themes: family and community, work, home, the spiritual, and the nation. During the six decades covered here, the United States experienced war and peace, economic collapse and recovery, and social discord and progress. American artists responded in complex and diverse ways, and a central aim of the exhibition is to honor each artist’s efforts to create her or his own vision of American life. The artists and their works suggest that our sense of self is composed of our responsibilities, places, and beliefs.
Where We Are, as well as each of its sections, is titled after a phrase in W. H. Auden’s poem “September 1, 1939.” Auden, who was raised in England, wrote the poem in New York shortly after his immigration to the United States and at the very outset of World War II. The title of the poem marks the date Germany invaded Poland. While its subject is the beginning of the war, Auden’s true theme is how the shadow of a global emergency reaches into the far corners of everyday life. Although mournful, the poem concludes by pointing to the individual’s capacity to “show an affirming flame.” Where We Are shares Auden’s guarded optimism, gathering a constellation of artists whose light might lead us forward.
Where We Are is organized by David Breslin, DeMartini Family Curator and Director of the Collection, with Jennie Goldstein, assistant curator, and Margaret Kross, curatorial assistant.
Where We Are: Selections from the Whitney’s Collection, 1900–1960 is sponsored by
No One Exists Alone
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The subjects of family and community took new prominence during a period when migration became a hallmark of the American experience. Artists such as John Steuart Curry and Arshile Gorky used painting to conjure people and formative experiences from childhood. Curry evoked the rural Kansas of his youth, while Gorky painted the mother he lost in the Armenian genocide. Other artists, like James Van Der Zee, created pictures during the Harlem Renaissance that, countering a history of racist depictions, show the dignity of Black families and communities. PaJaMa (the name assumed by Paul Cadmus, Jared French, and Margaret French for their collaborative photographs) gave visibility to queer relationships that continue, in our time, to demonstrate the commonality of love and to enrich our understanding of what family and community mean.
PaJaMa, Chuck Howard and Ted Starkowski, 1953
PaJaMa, Chuck Howard and Ted Starkowski, 1953. Gelatin silver print, 8 15/16 × 7 7/16 in. (22.7 × 18.9 cm). Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; promised gift of Jack Shear P.2017.3. All rights reserved, Paul Cadmus, Licensed by VAGA, New York, N.Y. Jared and Margaret French
Installed as part of an earlier version of the exhibition.
Events
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Sat,
May 11
Ethics of Looking
4:30 pm
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Sat,
May 4
Ethics of Looking
4:30 pm
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Sat,
Apr 27
Ethics of Looking
4:30 pm
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Sat,
Jan 12
Whitney Signs: Where We Are: Selections from the Whitney’s Collection, 1900–1960
4–6 pm
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Wed,
Dec 5
Member Night
7:30–10 pm
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Fri,
Oct 19
Verbal Description and Touch Tour: Where We Are: Selections from the Whitney’s Collection, 1900–1960
10–11:30 am
Audio guides
Charles Demuth (1883‑1935), Buildings, Lancaster, 1930. Oil and graphite pencil on composition board, 24 1/8 × 20 1/8in. (61.3 × 51.1 cm). Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; gift of an anonymous donor 58.63
Hear directly from artists and curators on selected works from Where We Are: Selections from the Whitney’s Collection, 1900–1960.
Installation Photography
Installation view of Where We Are: Selections from the Whitney’s Collection, 1900–1960 (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, April 28, 2017–June 2, 2019). From left to right, top to bottom: Jacob Lawrence, War Series: Prayer, 1947; Jacob Lawrence, War Series: Another Patrol, 1946; Jacob Lawrence, War Series: Shipping Out, 1947; Jacob Lawrence, War Series: Alert, 1947; Jacob Lawrence; War Series: The Letter, 1946; Jacob Lawrence, War Series: Docking – Cigarette, Joe?, 1947; Jacob Lawrence, War Series: On Leave, 1947. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
Installation view of Where We Are: Selections from the Whitney’s Collection, 1900–1960 (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, April 28, 2017–June 2, 2019). From left to right: Archibald Motley, Jr., Gettin’ Religion, 1948; John Steuart Curry, Baptism in Kansas, 1928; Thomas Hart Benton, Poker Night (from A Streetcar Named Desire), 1948; Jared French, State Park, 1946. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
Installation view of Where We Are: Selections from the Whitney’s Collection, 1900–1960 (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, April 28, 2017–June 2, 2019). From left to right, top to bottom: Jared French, State Park, 1946; Paul Cadmus, Finistere, 1952; Paul Cadmus, The Bath, 1951; PaJaMa, Margaret French, George Tooker and Jared French, Nantucket, c. 1946; James Van Der Zee, Atlantic City, 1930; PaJaMa, Chuck Howard and Ted Starkowski, 1953; Henry Koerner, Mirror of Life, 1946; Edward Hopper, A Woman in the Sun, 1961. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
Installation view of Where We Are: Selections from the Whitney’s Collection, 1900–1960 (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, April 28, 2017–June 2, 2019). From left to right: Jared French, State Park, 1946; Paul Cadmus, Finistere, 1952; Paul Cadmus, The Bath, 1951; Hugo Gellert, Learning to Think and Work Together, 1943; Hugo Gellert, Modern Science for All, 1943; Hugo Gellert, Title page, 1943; Hugo Gellert, The Four Freedoms, 1943; Hugo Gellert, Free Man’s Duties (#2), 1943; Hugo Gellert, Free Man’s Duties (#1), 1943; Hugo Gellert, Century of the Common Man, 1943. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
Installation view of Where We Are: Selections from the Whitney’s Collection, 1900–1960 (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, April 28, 2017–June 2, 2019). From left to right: Fairfield Porter, Portrait of Ted Carey and Andy Warhol, 1960; Jacob Lawrence, War Series: Prayer, 1947; Arshile Gorky, The Artist and His Mother, 1926–c.1936; Louise Bourgeois, Quarantania, 1941; Frank Stella, Die Fahne hoch!, 1959; Charles Henry Alston, The Family, 1955; Archibald Motley, Jr., Gettin’ Religion, 1948. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
Installation view of Where We Are: Selections from the Whitney’s Collection, 1900–1960 (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, April 28, 2017–June 2, 2019). From left to right, top to bottom: Dorothea Lange, Howard Street, San Francisco, 1934; Victoria Hutson Huntley, Kopper’s Coke, 1932; Kyra Markham, Lockout, 1937; Henry Billings, Machines and Men, 1931; Jerome Liebling, Grain Worker, Minneapolis, MN, 1950; Edward Hopper, Early Sunday Morning, 1930; Frank Stella, Die Fahne hoch!, 1959. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
Installation view of Where We Are: Selections from the Whitney’s Collection, 1900–1960 (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, April 28, 2017–June 2, 2019). From left to right: Jasper Johns, Three Flags, 1958; Edward Hopper, Early Sunday Morning, 1930. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
Installation view of Where We Are: Selections from the Whitney’s Collection, 1900–1960 (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, April 28, 2017–June 2, 2019). From left to right, top to bottom: Larry Rivers, Washington Crossing the Delaware, 1960; Ilse Bing, Play of Sounds, American Flag, 1931; Daniel Chester French, Standing Lincoln, 1912; Joseph Pennell, Hail America, 1908, Bernada Bryson Shahn, 30,000,000 Immigrants, 1935–36; George Grosz, Waving the Flag, 1947–48; Diane Arbus, Max Maxwell Landar, Uncle Sam, N.Y.C., 1961; Jasper Johns, Flag Study, 1959; Andreas Feininger, U.S. Steel, Blooming Mill, 1944; Andreas Feininger, Drop Forge, 1944; Margaret Bourke-White, Industrial Rayon Corporation. Painesville, Ohio, 1939; Jared French, State Park, 1946. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
Installation view of Where We Are: Selections from the Whitney’s Collection, 1900–1960 (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, April 28, 2017–June 2, 2019). From left to right: Andrew Wyeth, Winter Fields, 1942; Walker Evans, Tengle Children, Hale County, Alabama, 1936; Clyfford Still, Untitled, 1956. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
Installation view of Where We Are: Selections from the Whitney’s Collection, 1900–1960 (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, April 28, 2017–June 2, 2019). From left to right: Clyfford Still, Untitled, 1956; Barnett Newman, Day One, 1951–1952; Richmond Barthé, African Dancer, 1933; Jay DeFeo, The Eyes, 1958. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
Installation view of Where We Are: Selections from the Whitney’s Collection, 1900–1960 (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, April 28, 2017–June 2, 2019). From left to right: Jay DeFeo, The Eyes, 1958; Richmond Barthé, African Dancer, 1933; Morris Louis, Tet, 1958. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
Installation view of Where We Are: Selections from the Whitney’s Collection, 1900–1960 (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, April 28, 2017–June 2, 2019). From left to right: Agnes Pelton, Untitled, 1931; Agnes Pelton, Sea Change; Georgia O’Keeffe, Music, Pink and Blue No. 2, 1918; Ruth Asawa, Number 1 – 1955, 1954, refabricated 1958. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
Installation view of Where We Are: Selections from the Whitney’s Collection, 1900–1960 (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, April 28, 2017–June 2, 2019). From left to right: Georgia O’Keeffe, Abstraction, 1926; Georgia O’Keeffe, It Was Blue and Green, 1960; Georgia O’Keeffe, Music, Pink and Blue No. 2, 1918. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
Installation view of Where We Are: Selections from the Whitney’s Collection, 1900–1960 (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, April 28, 2017–June 2, 2019). From left to right, top to bottom: Charles Sheeler, Geranium, c. 1926; Beauford Delaney, Untitled, 1948; Roy Lichtenstein, Bathroom, 1961; Alex Katz, Ada on Blue, 1959; Edward Steichen, Mr. and Mrs. Sandburg, Elmhurst, Illinois (Vanity Fair), 1923; Alice Neel, Blanche Angel Pregnant, 1937; James Van Der Zee, Cousin Susan Porter, 1915; Gordon Parks, Untitled, 1950; Fairfield Porter, Portrait of Ted Carey and Andy Warhol, 1960. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
Installation view of Where We Are: Selections from the Whitney’s Collection, 1900–1960 (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, April 28, 2017–June 2, 2019). From left to right, top to bottom: Charles Sheeler, Geranium, c. 1926; Beauford Delaney, Untitled, 1948; Charles Sheeler, Living Room of New York Apartment of Louise and Walter Arensberg (Southeast Corner), c. 1918; Charles Sheeler, Living Room of New York Apartment of Louise and Walter Arensberg (Northwest Corner), c. 1918; George C. Ault, The Artist at Work, 1946; Roy Lichtenstein, Bathroom, 1961; Bill Taylor, Man in Blue House with Rooster, 1939–1942; Mabel Dwight, The Survivor, Staten Island, 1929; Walker Evans, Westchester, New York, Farmhouse, 1931, printed 1971; Edward Hopper, Cape Cod Sunset, 1934. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
Installation view of Where We Are: Selections from the Whitney’s Collection, 1900–1960 (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, April 28, 2017–June 2, 2019). From left to right, top to bottom: James Castle, (Farm Scene with Road), c. 1910–1977; James Castle, (Farmscape), c. 1910–1977; James Castle, (House), c. 1910–1977; James Castle, (House and Shed), c. 1910–1977; James Castle, (Shed), c. 1910–1977; James Castle, (Interior with Stove), c. 1910–1977; James Castle, (Farmscape), c. 1910–1977; James Castle, (Two Trees), c. 1910–1977; James Castle, (Tree Forms in Landscape), c. 1910–1977; James Castle, (Landscapes with Columnar Forms), c. 1910–1977; James Castle, (Columnar Forms in Landscape), c. 1910–977; James Castle, (Landscape with Sculptural Elements), c. 1910–1977; James Castle, (Shed with Milk Separator), c. 1910–1977; James Castle, (Brown and Black Wall Construction), c. 1910–1977; James Castle, (3 Figures), c. 1910–1977; James Castle, (Studio), c. 1910–1977; James Castle, (Studio), c. 1910–1977. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
Installation view of Where We Are: Selections from the Whitney’s Collection, 1900–1960 (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, April 28, 2017– June 2, 2019). From left to right, top to bottom: James Castle, (Kingwood), c. 1910–1977; James Castle, PEAS, c. 1910–1977; James Castle, (South), c. 1910–1977; James Castle, (DelMonte Peas), c. 1910–1977; James Castle, (book), c. 1910–1977. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
Installation view of Where We Are: Selections from the Whitney’s Collection, 1900–1960 (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, April 28, 2017–June 2, 2019). From left to right: Isamu Noguchi, Humpty Dumpty, 1946; Alexander Calder, Hanging Spider, c. 1940. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
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In the News
“This stunning installation organized by David Breslin with Jennie Goldstein and Margaret Kross depicts another tumultuous time in American history.”
—The Villager
"The show examines how American artists responded in complex and diverse ways to these events and to simultaneously honor each artist’s efforts to create her or his own vision of American life."
—Artinfo