Robert Whitman

Robert Whitman was a prominent figure in New York's Happenings movement during the late 1950s and early 1960s.

Biography of Robert Whitman

Robert Whitman was born in 1935 in New York. At the age of 10, following his father's death, Whitman moved to Englewood, New Jersey.

He attended local public schools and the Englewood School for Boys. From 1953 to 1957, Whitman studied literature at Rutgers University and pursued art history at Columbia University in 1958.

He was a pioneer of performance art and multimedia installation, co-founding Experiments in Art and Technology (E.A.T.), a nonprofit organization dedicated to fostering collaboration between artists and engineers.

Whitman had his first solo exhibition at the Rutgers-affiliated gallery, Art House, in 1958, and debuted his groundbreaking Constructions at Hansa Gallery, New York, in 1959. 

Throughout his career, Whitman aimed to transform and transcend the limitations of images by highlighting their spatial, temporal, and dimensional qualities. He has created and produced over forty performance works.

Whitman's innovative approach is reflected in his multimedia installations and performance art, which often involved integrating various materials and technologies to create immersive experiences. His works are held in numerous prestigious collections worldwide, including the Centre Pompidou in Paris, Dia Art Foundation in New York, The Fabric Workshop and Museum in Philadelphia, Moderna Museet in Stockholm, Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía in Madrid, Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles, The Museum of Modern Art in New York, Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, D.C., and Walker Art Center in Minneapolis.