Whitney Museum Acquires Works by Emma Amos, Ed Clark, Many More -ARTnews

The Whitney Museum of American Art in New York said today that it has acquired 300 artworks over the past six months, going back to November of 2018. With the new additions, 60 artists—including Nina Chanel Abney, Barbara Hammer, Simone Leigh, Mary Weatherford, and Ed Clark—will enter the museum’s collection for the first time.

A few of the works joining the Whitney’s holdings are Abney’s White River Fish Kill (2017), five collages by Jean Conner, four multimedia pieces by Clarissa Tossin, Diamond Stingily’s video How Did He Die (2016), three photographs by Ruth Orkin, and José Lerma’s painting Beso de esquina (2003).

Several of the acquisitions—by Carolina Caycedo, Lena Henke, Christine Sun Kim, Guadalupe Maravilla, and others—figured in recent exhibitions at the Whitney.

Also part of this robust group are pieces by Diane Arbus, Nan Goldin, David Hammons, Jasper Johns, Mark Rothko, Emma Amos, Wu Tsang, David Wojnarowicz, and Grant Wood, among other names already represented in the museum’s collection.

Scott Rothkopf, the senior deputy director and chief curator of the Whitney, said in a statement, “We’re thrilled that many of our recent acquisitions, particularly by artists new to the collection, arose through our reenergized emerging artist program. This continues our historical commitment to acquiring works by contemporary artists directly from our groundbreaking exhibitions and allows us to extend our dialogue with these artists as stewards of their work.”

David Breslin, curator and director of the collection, added, “Our new acquisitions permit us to present new art histories, especially when we put those works on the Whitney’s walls so soon after acquiring them.”