COURTESY OF NEW YORK STUDIO SCHOOL
The Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney Studio in Greenwich Village, operated out of the New York Studio School, has been named a National Treasure by the National Trust. The studio, which was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1992, and was included on the World Monument Fund’s 2012 Watch List, was built in 1877 as a carriage house. In 1907 artist and patron Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney had it converted into a studio and salon, and in 1929 it became part of the original site of the Whitney Museum.
The space is in need of a $2.2 million restoration. The National Trust has given the NYSS a $30,000 grant towards this goal, and will also help the school with fundraising. In a statement, Stephanie Meeks, president of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, called the Whitney Studio “the cradle of the modern American art movement.”