Whitney Museum of American Art (original building)
40°43′59″N73°59′54″W/ 40.73295°N 73.998306°W
Whitney Museum of American Art (original building); currentlyNew York Studio School of Drawing, Painting and Sculpture | |
 (2011) | |
    | |
| Location | 8–12 West 8th Street Manhattan,New York City[1][2] |
|---|---|
| Built | 1838 (original buildings) 1931 (remodeled into gallery and residence) 1936 (remodeled into museum)[3][4] |
| Architect | Auguste L. Noel of Noel & Miller (1931 and 1936)[1] |
| Architectural style | Neoclassical |
| NRHP referenceNo. | 92001877 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | April 27, 1992[5] |
| Designated NHL | April 27, 1992[6] |
TheWhitney Museum of American Art'soriginal building is a collection of three 1838rowhousesat 8–12 West8th Street,betweenFifth AvenueandMacDougal Street,in theGreenwich Villageneighborhood ofManhattaninNew York City.In 1907,Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitneyestablished the Whitney Studio Gallery at 8 West 8th Street adjacent to her own MacDougal Alley studio. This, and the later Whitney Studio Club at 147 West 4th Street, were intended to provide young artists with places to meet and exhibit their works.[1][7][8]
In 1918, American artist and friendRobert Winthrop Chanlerwas commissioned to redesign the interior of the 8th Street property, adding an allegorical bas-relief ceiling, a 20-foot-high plaster and bronze fireplace, elaborate stained glass windows, and decorative screens.[9][10][11]
In 1929, when theMetropolitan Museum of Artrejected Whitney's offer of the gift of nearly 500 new artworks that she had collected, Whitney established theWhitney Museum of American Art.[12]In 1931, she had architect Auguste L. Noel of the firm of Noel & Miller convert the three row houses at 8–12 West 8th Street into a gallery and residence for herself, and the museum's first home.[1][3]
In the 1940s, plans to incorporate the collections of the Whitney into the Metropolitan Museum of Art as part of the 75th-anniversary celebration of the Met were unrealized.[13]In 1954, the museum moved uptown to new quarters on 54th Street between 5th and 6th Avenues – eventually settling in 1966 at 945Madison AvenueatEast 75th Street– and the building, with the addition of #14 West 8th Street, anItalianatehouse built in 1853–54,[3]became theNew York Studio School of Drawing, Painting and Sculpture.[1]
The building is located within theGreenwich Village Historic District,established in 1969 by theNew York City Landmarks Preservation Commission,and was declared aNational Historic Landmarkin 1992.[6][9][14]Listed on theWorld Monuments Fund's 2012 Watch list,[12]it has been the focus of an extensive restoration project on the part of theUniversity of Pennsylvania's Architectural Conservation Laboratory, in collaboration with the fund.[11]
Image gallery[edit]
These photographs, from a 1937 museum publication, show the museum as it was at the time:[15]
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Sculpture gallery -
Staircase -
Painting gallery -
Doorway,circa1937
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^abcdeNew York City Landmarks Preservation Commission;Dolkart, Andrew S.;Postal, Matthew A. (2009). Postal, Matthew A. (ed.).Guide to New York City Landmarks(4th ed.). New York: John Wiley & Sons. p. 54.ISBN978-0-470-28963-1.
- ^Harris, Bill;One Thousand New York Buildings,1st Edition; Black Dog and Leventhal. 2002.ISBN1-57912-443-7;p.135.
- ^abcNew York City Landmarks Preservation CommissionGreenwich Village Historic District Designation Report v.1(April 1969) p.151
- ^White, Norval;Willensky, Elliot; Leadon, Fran (2010).AIA Guide to New York City(5th ed.). New York: Oxford University Press. p. 133.ISBN978-0-19538-386-7.
- ^"National Register Information System".National Register of Historic Places.National Park Service.July 9, 2010.
- ^ab"New York Studio School of Drawing, Painting, and Sculpture".National Historic Landmark summary listing.National Park Service. September 17, 2007.
- ^Whitney Museum of American Art (1937).Whitney Museum of American Art: history, purpose and activities, with a complete list of works in its permanent collection to June, 1937.New York: Whitney Museum of American Art. p.3.RetrievedFebruary 7,2015.
- ^Wolf, Justin."The Whitney Museum of American Art".The Art Story.The Art Story Foundation.RetrievedFebruary 7,2015.
- ^ab"A National Treasure, the Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney Studio".Senior Women Web.RetrievedFebruary 4,2015.
- ^"Whitney Studio Ceiling".Architectural Conservation Laboratory (ACL) of the University of Pennsylvania.RetrievedFebruary 4,2015.
- ^abMatero, Frank; Drapala, Lauren."THE WHITNEY STUDIO CEILING: Examination, Analysis and Recommendation for Conservation"(PDF).Architectural Conservation Laboratory.University of Pennsylvania.RetrievedFebruary 4,2015.
- ^ab"29: New York Studio School of Drawing, Painting and Sculpture".Places where women made history.National Park Service.RetrievedFebruary 4,2015.
- ^"Finding aid for the Metropolitan Museum of Art 75th Anniversary Committee records, 1945–1950",Metropolitan Museum of Art
- ^Berman, Avis (December 2, 1991)."National Historic Landmark Nomination: Whitney Museum of American Art / New York Studio School of Drawing, Painting and Sculpture"(pdf).National Park Service.
{{cite journal}}:Cite journal requires|journal=(help)andAccompanying 26 photos, exterior and interior, from 1906–1991(10.1 MB) - ^Whitney Museum of American Art: history, purpose and activities, with a complete list of works in its permanent collection to June, 1937New York: Whitney Museum of American Art, 1937. Copyright not renewed.
External links[edit]
