About
Basquiat's Hollywood Africans, Warhol's Ethel Scull 36 Times and Nam June Paik's Magnet TV share one Whitney floor.
This is the Whitney's argument about what America has looked like for eighty years, hung as a single floor: Basquiat's Hollywood Africans a few steps from Warhol's Ethel Scull 36 Times, with Nam June Paik's magnet-warped television nearby. The title comes from a Felix Gonzalez-Torres work that illuminates a window in the galleries. If the Biennial leaves you overstimulated, come here for the long view.
What to expect
A large, continuously running collection hang organized by theme rather than strict chronology, covering realist and figurative traditions, consumerism, mass media and abstraction. Because it is permanent rather than temporary, it is usually the quietest floor in the building.
Good to know
- It runs continuously, so it makes a reliable fallback when temporary shows sell out
- Floor 7 also holds the Warhol Polaroid presentation, so do them together
- The A, C, E and L to 14th Street is the standard approach
- It is typically the least crowded floor when the Biennial is packed
- Included with general admission with no separate reservation
- The eighth-floor terraces above are the best free-with-ticket view in the building
Common questions
What are the best-known works on view?
Basquiat's Hollywood Africans, Warhol's Ethel Scull 36 Times, Nam June Paik's Magnet TV, Rauschenberg's Satellite and Betye Saar's I've Got Rhythm.
Where does the title come from?
From a Felix Gonzalez-Torres work of the same name, which illuminates a window in the exhibition.
Is this a temporary exhibition?
No. It opened in July 2025 and is presented on continuous view as a collection hang.