Sunday afternoon of Memorial Day weekend seemed like a perfectly good time to check out the new downtown West Village Whitney Museum, trying hard not to gloat too much as we floated past the long line of people waiting to get in to flash our press passes for immediate admission. All the reviews you’ve read are accurate. The building is a triumph — as art barn, as public space, as neighborhood hub, as people-watching hotspot, as all-round groovy destination. The outdoor spaces are unexpectedly brilliant, welcome opportunities to catch your breath from the overstimulation from the art on display and fun to look out and around from. Meanwhile, the opening exhibition — “America Is Hard to See” — is an ambitious, thoughtful, often revelatory selection from the Whitney’s vast permanent collection. I’ll go back and revisit, but on the first pass here are a few works new to me that caught my eye and dragged me ten feet:
Charles White’s 1952 drawing “Preacher”
Lamar Baker’s 1936-37 etching and aquatint “Fright”
I’m mostly not a fan of Jasper Johns’ banal Americana but this canvas called “Racing Thoughts” captivated me
view of the High Line from one of the four outdoor terraces
many opportunities for incongruous selfies
another eye opens 
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