Whitney studio whitney studio club

A New York City gathering place in a three-story building at 8 West 8th Street of 'progressive art-minded' persons, the Whitney Studio was funded by Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney with exhibitions under the name of Whitney Studio beginning 1914. The goal was to help artists gain exposure and gallery representation. Among exhibiting artists were William Zorach, John Sloan and George Luks. In 1918 at the same location, Whitney and Juliana Force founded the Whitney Studio Club, which not only sponsored exhibitions but created a place for artists to socialize with billiards and a squash court, to read in the library, hold meetings and attend classes with live models at 20 cents per session. The Club, which was the precursor of the Whitney Museum, was not a venue for sales. Source: Lindsay Pollock, "The Girl with the Gallery-Edith Halpert".