Winter at the Whitney
A Seasonal Guide

Our favorite ways to get festive and celebrate the season at the Whitney. 

Step into a Mini Circus
High Wire: Calder’s Circus at 100, Floor 8 

Revel in the spectacle of Calder’s miniature circus. The dynamic artwork inspires awe and wonder—it’s easy to imagine the artist bringing it to life back in the 1920s. Calder was fascinated by the circus, relishing its popular appeal, drama, and structure: “I love the mechanics of the thing—and the vast space—and the spotlight.” Celebrate the 100th anniversary of Calder's Circus with an expansive new installation that includes circus-themed wire sculptures and drawings, related archival material, and early examples of the artist's signature abstract sculptures.

Have a Hopper Holiday
“Untitled” (America), Floor 7 and online

Take a pause from the frenzy of the holidays in the city with Edward Hopper's quiet depictions of New York. In Early Sunday Morning, Hopper captures a city street that is absent of people. The painting evokes the crisp green and red-rust hues of the holiday season, cast in frosty blue light. Visit this work alongside other Hopper paintings on Floor 7. And on your way out, grab the perfect gift for the Hopper-admirers in your life with clothing, stationery, and more inspired by the artist at the Whitney Shop. 

Fight the Conventions of Cuffing Season
Shifting Landscapes, Floor 6

Instead of searching for a significant other this cuffing season, celebrate self-reliance and connection to your environment. Dalton Gata’s I Don't Need You To Be Warm depicts a blonde character in a flowing fur coat with her mane ablaze. She stands statuesque in a warm, dry landscape. The fantastical scene asserts independence—the figure is the source of her own fire and warmth. Gata states, "fantasy has a lot to do with the freedom to dream and create your own universe.” Step into other alternative worlds in Shifting Landscapes, on view until January 25.

Enjoy Daily Life in a Snowy Town
Ken Ohara: CONTACTS, Floor 3 

Wishing for snow this winter? Catch quaint snapshots of a multi-generational family enjoying wintertime in rural Maryland— from starting a snowball fight to driving a tractor over snowy fields to snuggling with a dog. Contact Sheet 36 is a part of CONTACTS, Ken Ohara’s participatory project that invited strangers from across the country to document themselves and their loved ones in their daily lives. Centering on human connection, the project strings together the intimate fragments of a hundred participants living in thirty-six states.

Reflect Upon Home
Grace Rosario Perkins: Circles, Spokes, Zigzags, Rivers, Floor 1 

Grace Rosario Perkins’s painting Going Going evokes the tug of home. The Diné/Akimel O’odham artist, who is originally from Santa Fe, New Mexico, drew the phrase “Come Home” from an ad for a queer resource center in New York. In her words, “It really resonated with me. I’m so far from home. Some days it’s all I can think about—the expanse of the sky and earth in the desert.” Whether you are spending time with your chosen family or visiting relatives for the holiday season, we hope that this work inspires you to contemplate the people and places that provide a sense of belonging. Visit Circles, Spokes, Zigzags, Rivers, the artist’s solo exhibition, in our lobby gallery, which is always FREE to the public.

Get Cozy with a Wintery Treat
Frenchette Bakery at the Whitney, Floor 1 and Studio Bar, Floor 8  

Feeling chilly? Cozy up and refuel indoors with a warm beverage or bite at one of our dining spots. Frenchette Bakery and the Studio Bar both offer coffee, pastries, snacks, lunch, and a full bar. Relax in velvety upholstered booths, inhaling the scent of freshly baked bread, while watching the holiday bustle of the Meatpacking District from floor-to-ceiling windows.

Plan your visit
What to know before you go.