A small vintage circus dancer puppet in a leaping pose on a red fringe-covered platform.
A small vintage circus dancer puppet in a leaping pose on a red fringe-covered platform.

Alexander Calder, Calder's Circus (detail), 1926-31 (installation view, High Wire: Calder’s Circus at 100, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, October 18, 2025–March 9, 2026). Wire, wood, metal, cloth, yarn, paper, cardboard, leather, string, rubber tubing, corks, buttons, rhinestones, pipe cleaners, and bottle caps, dimensions variable. Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; purchase with funds from a public fundraising campaign in May 1982. One half the funds were contributed by the Robert Wood Johnson Jr. Charitable Trust. Additional major donations were given by The Lauder Foundation; the Robert Lehman Foundation, Inc.; the Howard and Jean Lipman Foundation, Inc.; an anonymous donor; The T. M. Evans Foundation, Inc.; MacAndrews & Forbes Group, Incorporated; the DeWitt Wallace Fund, Inc.; Martin and Agneta Gruss; Anne Phillips; Mr. and Mrs. Laurance S. Rockefeller; the Simon Foundation, Inc.; Marylou Whitney; Bankers Trust Company; Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth N. Dayton; Joel and Anne Ehrenkranz; Irvin and Kenneth Feld; Flora Whitney Miller. More than 500 individuals from 26 states and abroad also contributed to the campaign 83.36.1-72. © 2026 Calder Foundation, New York / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Photograph by Gus Powell

Last chance

High Wire: Calder’s Circus at 100
Through Mar 9
Learn more about the exhibition Book Tickets
A large group of people dance together outdoors, raising their arms, while others watch and walk nearby.

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The Whitney Biennial 

The Whitney Biennial is the longest-running survey of American art, and has been a hallmark of the Museum since 1932. The current format—a survey show of work in all media occurring every two years—has been in place since 1973. Mark your calendars for the next iteration, opening March 2026. 

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Child drawing on paper titled "Seven Soothing Sketches" with colorful markers and a pill organizer on a table.

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artport

Check out art that's created specifically for the web on artport—the Whitney's gallery space for Internet and new-media art.

Dive Into Our Collection

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  • A rectangular green-yellow light patch on the floor shows a streetlamp silhouette and scattered bird shadows.
    A rectangular green-yellow light patch on the floor shows a streetlamp silhouette and scattered bird shadows.

    Paul Chan, 1st Light, 2005. Video installation, black-and-white and color, silent, 14 min., overall: 103 × 245 × 283 in. (261.6 × 622.3 × 718.8 cm). Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; purchase, with funds from the Film and Video Committee 2007.4. © Paul Chan, courtesy the artist and Greene Naftali, New York

  • Large black X-shaped geometric graphic centered on a white background with a faint vertical seam.
    Large black X-shaped geometric graphic centered on a white background with a faint vertical seam.

    Wade Guyton, Untitled, 2007. Inkjet print on linen, overall: 84 1/4 × 69 1/2 in. (214 × 176.5 cm). Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; gift of Donna and Benjamin Rosen in honor of Donna De Salvo and Scott Rothkopf 2015.322. © Wade Guyton

  • A colorful, energetic painting of a smiling woman with raised arms wearing a yellow skirt.
    A colorful, energetic painting of a smiling woman with raised arms wearing a yellow skirt.

    Willem de Kooning, Woman and Bicycle, 1952–1953. Oil, enamel, and charcoal on linen, overall: 76 1/2 × 49 1/8 in. (194.3 × 124.8 cm). Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; purchase 55.35. © The Willem de Kooning Foundation/ Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

  • A woman in a vintage suit and hat walks along a cobblestone street, looking to her right.
    A woman in a vintage suit and hat walks along a cobblestone street, looking to her right.

    Cindy Sherman, Untitled Film Still #23, 1978. Gelatin silver print, sheet: 8 × 9 15/16 in. (20.3 × 25.2 cm) Image: 7 1/2 × 9 7/16 in. (19.1 × 24 cm). Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; gift of Thea Westreich Wagner and Ethan Wagner 2010.221. © Cindy Sherman, courtesy the artist and Metro Pictures

  • A Black man wearing a black beret, suit jacket, and slacks sits in a peacock chair. The back of his chair is various shades of grey and features glimpses of newspaper clippings throughout. He holds a spear in his left hand and a rifle in the other. The floor is rust colored with an irregularly shaped zebra print rug. The wall behind him is off-white with rust colored intersecting lines.
    A Black man wearing a black beret, suit jacket, and slacks sits in a peacock chair. The back of his chair is various shades of grey and features glimpses of newspaper clippings throughout. He holds a spear in his left hand and a rifle in the other. The floor is rust colored with an irregularly shaped zebra print rug. The wall behind him is off-white with rust colored intersecting lines.

    Henry Taylor, Huey Newton, 2007. Acrylic and collaged photocopies on canvas, overall: 94 9/16 × 76 1/4 in. (240.2 × 193.7 cm). Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; gift of Martin and Rebecca Eisenberg in honor of Adam D. Weinberg 2016.86. © Henry Taylor

  • A long line of people waits beneath a billboard reading "World's highest standard of living."
    A long line of people waits beneath a billboard reading "World's highest standard of living."

    Margaret Bourke-White, The Louisville Flood, 1937, printed c. 1970. Gelatin silver print, image: 9 11/16 × 13 3/8 in. (24.6 × 34 cm) Mount (board): 15 15/16 × 19 7/8 in. (40.5 × 50.5 cm). Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; gift of Sean Callahan 92.58. © Estate of Margaret Bourke-White / Licensed by VAGA at Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York, NY

On the Hour

A 30-second online art project:
Frank WANG Yefeng, The Levitating Perils #2

Learn more about this project

Learn more at whitney.org/artport

On the Hour projects can contain motion and sound. To respect your accessibility settings autoplay is disabled.