Frames of Reference: Looking at American Art, 1900-1950

Presents works from the Whitney Museum (WM) of American Art. Highlights different readings of selected works from 1900 to 1950 in the WM Permanent Collection (PC). Chap. 1: a biography of Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney; covers the decades that led to the opening of the WM in 1931. Chap. 2: devoted to 26 key objects in the PC -- paintings, sculptures, & works on paper -- are treated from varying aesthetic, social, cultural, & biographical perspectives. Chap. 3: focuses on 10 icons in the PC that call to mind some of the greatest achievements of 20th cent. Amer. art. Each of the 10 icons is accompanied by the words of 3 different writers from different disciplines, 30 writers. Profusely illustrated.