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Quiz about A Moveable Feast of American Art The Whitney

"A Moveable Feast" of American Art - The Whitney Quiz

The Whitney Museum of American Art, which has occupied several sites in New York City over the course of its history, is the premier venue in the United States to see works by modern and contemporary American artists.

A multiple-choice quiz by Whitney37. Estimated time: 5 mins.

Author
Whitney37

Time
5 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
369,325

Updated
Dec 03 21

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Tough

Avg Score
6 / 10

Plays
201

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 10

1. Who founded the Whitney Museum? Hint

Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney

Flora Payne Whitney

Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney

Eli Whitney

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Question 2 of 10

2. In what year did the Whitney open to the public? Hint

1921

1931

1941

1951

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Question 3 of 10

3. Where in Manhattan was the first Whitney Museum located? Hint

Chelsea

Greenwich Village

The Meatpacking District in lower Manhattan

Tribeca

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Question 4 of 10

4. For what exhibition is the Whitney Museum internationally renowned? Hint

The Biennial

Art New York

The Whitney Art Expo

Documentia: Whitney

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Question 5 of 10

5. In need of space for its growing Permanent Collection, the museum moved to a larger facility in 1954. Where in Manhattan was the second incarnation of the Whitney Museum? Hint

Upper East Side

Midtown

Upper West Side

Soho

6. By the 1960s, again squeezed for space, the Whitney engaged Hungarian-born Bauhaus-trained architect, Marcel Breuer, to design a custom exhibition space for them. Where was the new location? Hint

Fifth Avenue and 75th Street

Madison Avenue and 72nd Street

Madison Avenue and 75th Street

Fifth Avenue and 72nd Street

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Question 7 of 10

7. The Whitney owns the largest collection in the world of a master American artist. Whose work was bequeathed to the museum by the artist's widow? Hint

Willem de Kooning

Mark Rothko

Edward Hopper

Alexander Calder

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Question 8 of 10

8. Under whose directorship did the Whitney acquire the majority of its iconic works of American art? Hint

Tom Armstrong

Jack Armstrong

Lance Armstrong

Neil Armstrong

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Question 9 of 10

9. In 1985 the museum decided to add an additional ten floors to the Breuer building at a cost of 35.5 million dollars. Renowned architect Michel Graves designed the addition; however, the project never went forward. Why? Hint

The funds could not be raised

The board of trustees lost interest in the project

The architect objected to changes to his design

The majority of trustees preferred deaccessioning works rather than increasing exhibition space

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Question 10 of 10

10. In 2011 the museum broke ground for a new facility, designed by Italian architect Renzo Piano, which will expand exhibition, work and public space to 200,000 sq. ft. Where is the new museum being built? Hint

Midtown

The Meatpacking District in lower Manhattan

Greenich Village

Tribeca

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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Who founded the Whitney Museum?

Answer: Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney

Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney was herself a sculptor, art collector and patron of American artists. She was born into the wealthy and socially connected Vanderbilt family and married into the wealthy and socially connected Whitney family. It was only after the Metropolitan Museum of Art declined the offered gift of her art collection that Whitney decided to found her own museum to showcase American artists.

2. In what year did the Whitney open to the public?

Answer: 1931

Given the Met's refusal of her collection, and the preference of the Museum of Modern Art for European artists, Whitney decided to found her own museum in 1930. It was not until 1931, however, that the building which formerly housed "The Whitney Studio Club", together with two adjacent row houses, were renovated into gallery space and a residence for Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney, that the museum was able to mount its first exhibition.

3. Where in Manhattan was the first Whitney Museum located?

Answer: Greenwich Village

The museum's original home was located on West 8th Street between 5th Avenue and MacDougal Street in Greenwich Village.

4. For what exhibition is the Whitney Museum internationally renowned?

Answer: The Biennial

The Biennial highlights emerging young artists and is a "must see" for museum professionals from around the world - directors, curators, critics, dealers, and collectors. The museum's first Biennial exhibition of paintings and sculpture was held in 1932.

5. In need of space for its growing Permanent Collection, the museum moved to a larger facility in 1954. Where in Manhattan was the second incarnation of the Whitney Museum?

Answer: Midtown

The second Whitney Museum was located on West 54th Street in Midtown, just behind the Museum of Modern Art on West 53rd Street.

6. By the 1960s, again squeezed for space, the Whitney engaged Hungarian-born Bauhaus-trained architect, Marcel Breuer, to design a custom exhibition space for them. Where was the new location?

Answer: Madison Avenue and 75th Street

Breuer constructed the new museum in the Brutalist style popular at that time and to some eyes the new building looked more like a prison than a museum. You even had to cross a bridge over a moat to enter the front doors. Nevertheless, over time, it has become an iconic structure on the Upper East Side and is now seen as bold and innovative.

7. The Whitney owns the largest collection in the world of a master American artist. Whose work was bequeathed to the museum by the artist's widow?

Answer: Edward Hopper

Edward Hopper died in his studio on May 15, 1967. His wife, Josephine Nivison Hopper, died ten months later. She bequeathed more than 2,000 paintings, watercolors, drawings and prints from Hopper's earliest to his last works to the Whitney Museum.

8. Under whose directorship did the Whitney acquire the majority of its iconic works of American art?

Answer: Tom Armstrong

In 1989 the museum highlighted the works added to the Permanent Collection during Armstrong's directorship with an exhibition titled "Art in Place: Fifteen Years of Acquisitions." During Armstrong's tenure the Permanent Collection grew from 2,000 works to 8,500.

Answer: The board of trustees lost interest in the project

In the face of growing opposition from the museum's neighbors, difficulty with obtaining building permits, waning interest on the part of the museum board and donors, expansion plans were dropped in 1989 and in 1990 the formerly lauded Thomas Newton Armstrong III was dismissed by the trustees as museum director.

Answer: The Meatpacking District in lower Manhattan

The Whitney's trustees unanimously approved the $680 million dollar plan for the building project on Gansevoort Street at the southern end of the High Line promenade in lower Manhattan. The Metropolitan Museum of Art has signed an eight year lease on the Breuer building to exhibit their own collection of modern art.

Source: Author Whitney37

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