Containing one of the most reputable collections of American art from the 20 and 21st centuries, the Whitney Museum designed by Bauhaus-trained architect Marcel Breuer is an easily recognizable landmark of Manhattan. It is known for emphasizing exhibitions of work of living artists while also maintaining an extensive permanent collection of other important pieces from the first half of the century.
Photography: Ezra Stoller
The museum was founded by a well-regarded sculptor and art collector named Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney, who had gained popularity among the art crowd after creating the “Whitney Studio Club,” which was an exhibition space for new avant-garde American artists.

Upon collecting nearly 700 works of American art and being denied when she tried to donate the works to museums, Whitney felt the urge to start her own museum in 1929. This led to the conversion of three-row houses to a larger gallery by architect Noel L. Miller in 1931. Photography: Wikimedia Commons
The ownership of the museum passed down through the family over the years, and also left its original location in 1954 to take up space behind the Museum of Modern Art. A little over a decade later, the building was to be moved to Manhattan’s Upper East Side, and architect Marcel Breuer was asked to plan and build the gallery with help from Hamilton Smith. The site chosen measured 100 x 125 feet and sat amongst tall apartment buildings.

Designed in Breuer’s distinct modern sty...