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 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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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 series of fire hoses arranged vertically, painted in various shades of blue, green, orange, and white
    A series of fire hoses arranged vertically, painted in various shades of blue, green, orange, and white

    Theaster Gates, Minority Majority, 2012. Decommissioned fire hoses and vinyl on plywood, overall: 66 × 111 1/2 × 3 3/4 in. (167.6 × 283.2 × 9.5 cm). Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; gift of Barbara and Michael Gamson 2016.262

  • In a room extending across a diptych, a pensive Black woman sits at a table surrounded by pattered surfaces.
    In a room extending across a diptych, a pensive Black woman sits at a table surrounded by pattered surfaces.

    Njideka Akunyili Crosby, Portals, 2016. Acrylic, solvent transfer, collage of fabric and paper, and colored pencil on paper, overall: 83 5/8 × 206 in. (212.4 × 523.2 cm). Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; purchase, with funds from the Jacques and Natasha Gelman Foundation 2016.93a-b. © Njideka Akunyili Crosby

  • Black spiral overlay spirals inward toward a glowing orange triangle on a teal background.
    Black spiral overlay spirals inward toward a glowing orange triangle on a teal background.

    Mary Ellen Bute, Synchromy No. 4: Escape, 1937–1938. 16mm film, color, sound, 4 min., transferred to video, aspect Ratio: 4:3. Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; purchase, with funds from the Film, Video, and New Media Committee 2014.101. © Estate of Mary Ellen Bute; courtesy Arsenal - Institut für film und videokunst, Berlin

  • Abstract figure with colorful hair and various objects attached. Text reads "SHE'S HiT" at the top.
    Abstract figure with colorful hair and various objects attached. Text reads "SHE'S HiT" at the top.

    Jim Nutt, She's Hit, 1967. Acrylic on plexiglass, with wood frame, overall: 36 × 24 in. (91.4 × 61 cm). Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; purchase, with funds from the Larry Aldrich Foundation Fund 69.101

  • A swan floats against a dreamy, colorful backdrop of sharp and fluid shapes
    A swan floats against a dreamy, colorful backdrop of sharp and fluid shapes

    Agnes Pelton, Ahmi in Egypt, 1931. Oil on canvas, overall: 36 3/16 × 24 3/16 in. (91.9 × 61.4 cm). Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; purchase, with funds from the Modern Painting and Sculpture Committee 96.175

  • Colorful abstract artwork with faces, text, and symbols, including "Hollywood Africans" and "200 Yen."
    Colorful abstract artwork with faces, text, and symbols, including "Hollywood Africans" and "200 Yen."

    Jean-Michel Basquiat, Hollywood Africans, 1983. Acrylic and oil stick on canvas, overall: 84 1/16 × 84 in. (213.5 × 213.4 cm). Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; gift of Douglas S. Cramer 84.23. © The Estate of Jean-Michel Basquiat. Licensed by Artestar, New York

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.