Whitney Museum of American Art
Photograph by Ezra Stoller. © Ezra Stoller / Esto
An estimated $8 million in art has been donated to an auction to raise money for the construction of a new building for the Whitney Museum of American Art. The New York museum is currently working on designing and creating a new space that will be about three times as big as their current location.
Artists, artists’ estates, private collectors and dealers have all contributed works to the auction, which, according to the Associated Press/Wall Street Journal include original paintings from Jasper Johns, Cy Twombly, and Ellsworth Kelly. A total of 25 artists will be represented in the auction. “Untitled,” a 2012 piece by Jasper Johns is expected to bring in up to $2 million. The auction will be held on May 14th and 15th at Sotheby’s.
Jasper Johns “Untitled” (2012)
Image from glasstire.com
The new site for Whitney will be located on Washington Street and Gansevoort Street and is being designed by Renzo Piano. It will have about 20,000 square feet of gallery space and is expected to open in 2015.
Renzo Piano is an award-winning Italian Architect. He has been noted by TIME as one of the 100 most influential people in the world and as the 10th most influential person in the “Arts and Entertainment” category of the magazine’s 2006 list. He has designed projects around the globe, including in Italy, France, Japan, the Netherlands, New Caledonia, Germany, Australia, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Norway, and the United States. He has also received numerous awards during his lifetime, including the Italian Order of Merit for Culture and Art in 1994.