Frames of Reference - Looking At American Art 1900 - 1950 [Introduction to American Art As Well As to the Whitney Museum of American Art]

by Beth Venn

The Whitney Museum of American Art, founded by visionary patron and artist Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney (1875-1942), is home to one of the finest collections of American art in the country. Frames of Reference features eminent contributors from the fields of art, literature, and contemporary culture who together provide a wide-ranging introduction to American art as well as to the Whitney Museum's unparalleled collection. Kennedy Fraser's introductory essay focuses on Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney, especially on her relationships with the artists of her time, her own artistic development, and her farsighted advocacy of American art and artists. In section two, Adam D. Weinberg, Beth Venn, Kathryn Potts, and Kate Rubin concentrate on twenty-seven of the Whitney's most popular works, each entry accompanied by captions and related images that shed new light on old favorites. The book's third section features ten "icons" from the Whitney's Permanent Collection, with three contributors providing distinct perspectives on each work. This stimulating combination of voices instructs, enlightens, and, at times, John Updike on Edward Hopper's Early Sunday Morning, Alan Dershowitz on Ben Shahn's The Passion of Sacco and Vanzetti, and George Plimpton on George Bellows' Dempsey and Firpo are examples of this section's diverse mix. With its unique design and variety of approaches to viewing and understanding art, Frames of Reference will change the way visitors experience the Whitney Museum and will delight art lovers who might not have the opportunity to visit New York.

223 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1999

Reviews

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fascinating, novel approach to the idea of the museum collection catalogue. The book is really three books in one: the first part is a history of Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney and her collection; the second part contains short sections covering some thirty works from the collection; finally, the final section takes an in-depth look at around a dozen key works.

In creating a book in this way, we get to see the art and also develop an understanding of why it was collected and what its place is within American modern art. The middle section of the book devotes two pages to each work, with a short essay and accompanying information relating to the artist's other work and other related art. It is the final section, however, that contains the masterstroke - each of the major works is reviewed in three essays looking at the work and its background from different viewpoints. The reviewers and mot all art historians, but include everyone from engineers to sports journalists, each reflecting on the relevance of the work not only to art but to the social situation in which it was created. By exploring such a broad view of each work, we get to see it anew and gain a deeper understanding of its story. More gallery-specific art books should be written in this manner.

[Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was given to me by my mentor at the whitney at the end of my internship. There were a couple books that I picked out for myself, but she insisted that, despite it's slightly dull exterior, it's interior was chock full--an essential Whitney volume.

The book is a little hard to find and never really caught much attention because the title and cover design weren't quite what was called for. The material inside is wonderful though. It gives a brief but pretty full history of Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney and her vision for the museum and then goes on to present the fundamental pieces in the collection along with some explanatory paragraphs for putting them in context.

A great introduction to the museum, as well as it's creator, collection, artists. I believe most of it is full-color and quite nicely put together.