Autumn at the Whitney
A Seasonal Guide
Visit the Whitney to experience the best of New York’s coziest season.
An Art-Filled Walk Along the Waterfront
Day’s End, Hudson River Park
The Whitney Museum sits just steps away from the Hudson River. Savor the fall foliage and brisk air with a stroll along the waterfront (the park and pathway run from Tribeca to West 59th Street). Hovering just offshore from the Whitney is a giant but delicate sculpture by artist David Hammons called Day’s End. Silvery beams trace the silhouette of a pier that formerly occupied this site and was an important fixture to many artists and the neighborhood community. To learn more about this artwork and the history of the piers, check out the Whitney’s podcast or take our self-guided walking tour of the neighborhood.
Leaf peeping in the Museum
Survival Piece #5: Portable Orchard, Floor 8
Although the foliage along the waterfront may be more colorful, we have our very own orchard inside the Whitney. The small orchard budding in the galleries on Floor 8 is an artwork titled Survival Piece #5: Portable Orchard and will be on view through January 5, 2025. The work was conceived and designed in 1972 by artists Helen Mayer Harrison (1927–2018) and Newton Harrison (1932–2022), who imagined the need for a productive and sustainable food system in a future where natural farming practices are obsolete. Have a contemplative moment beneath a leafy canopy and breathe in the scent of… citrus. We know apples would be more fitting for the season, but you can find cider and donuts just up the street at Chelsea Market.
The Show of the Season
Edges of Ailey, Floor 5
Critics are raving about our exhibition Edges of Ailey, a tribute to Alvin Ailey, the visionary artist who revolutionized dance and left an enduring mark on American culture. The exhibition has been described as an “extravaganza” because it offers an immersive exploration of Ailey’s world: a multi-screen video installation wraps the galleries, bringing his choreography to life. The show also features works by over eighty artists—from Jean-Michel Basquiat to Alma Thomas to Kara Walker—and never-before-seen archival materials. Make sure to catch a live performance, too. Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Ailey II, and artists inspired by Ailey’s artistry will perform in our third-floor theater throughout the exhibition. Check the full schedule and book your tickets.
Sunsets from our Terraces
Terraces on Floors 8, 7, 6, & 5
One of our favorite things to do at the Whitney is enjoy the sunset from the terraces. There are terraces on Floors 5, 6, 7, and 8, but we recommend heading to the top floor to take in the view with a snack or drink from our eighth-floor Studio Bar, which offers coffee, pastries, small bites, a full bar, and lunch. Cozy up inside or savor the last temperate breezes from a table on the veranda; both offer stellar skyline views. With the days getting shorter, you can watch the cobblestone streets of the Meatpacking District disappear as the city’s lights emerge. It is atmospheric and the perfect place to observe everything that makes this season in New York so special.
Art with a Bit of Scare
The Whitney’s Collection, Floor 7
Visitors of all ages will enjoy roaming our galleries on the hunt for art that has a bit of a scare this Halloween season, and there are more than a few examples. This painting by artist Andrew Wyeth shows a dead, frozen crow painted from a worm’s-eye view, magnifying the bird relative to its surroundings and making it feel more akin to the size of a human body—eek! This piece is on view in our collection galleries on Floor 7. Just beyond it is a gallery brimming with eeriness—the Surrealist gallery. American Surrealists played with the tension between realistic renderings and dreamlike subject matter and, as you will see, exploring the subconscious can quickly become nightmarish. Check out Robert Vickrey’s The Labyrinth, Louis Guglielmi’s Terror in Brooklyn, or Frederico Castellon’s The Dark Figure to get in the Halloween spirit.
A Taste of the Countryside
Wanda Gág's World, Floor 7
Tucked away in a small gallery on Floor 7 are about twenty prints by artist Wanda Gág, who you may know from her children’s books like Millions of Cats. Gág produced a trove of artworks outside of her literary publications. Her prints depict cozy, rustic interiors—the kind of bucolic escape so many New Yorkers dream of this time of year. Firelight illuminates the tableaux and casts long shadows that distort, contort, and give life to inanimate objects. If you can’t leave the city this fall, escape into the whimsy of Wanda Gág’s World.
