Preview Gala

To benefit the Whitney Museum of American Art

Thursday, November 12

Video: Paul Frangipane, 2024.

The ADAA Fair opens with the Preview Gala benefiting the Whitney Museum of American Art, an evening celebrating the intersection of art and philanthropy while offering guests the first opportunity to experience the fair before it opens to the public.

Held at the Park Avenue Armory, the Preview Gala brings together collectors, museum leaders, philanthropists, artists, curators, and members of the cultural community for an exclusive first look at thoughtfully curated presentations from ADAA member galleries across the country.

Guests enjoy early access to the fair, alongside passed and stationed hors d'oeuvres, an open bar, and opportunities to engage with galleries and fellow supporters of the arts.

Proceeds from Preview Gala ticket sales benefit the Whitney Museum of American Art, the beneficiary of the 2026 ADAA Fair Preview Gala. Continuing a longstanding tradition of connecting art and philanthropy, the evening serves as both a celebration of artistic excellence and an investment in the future of one of America's leading museums.

Preview Gala Beneficiary

The Whitney Museum of American Art, founded in 1930 by the artist and philanthropist Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney (1875–1942), houses the foremost collection of American art from the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Mrs. Whitney, an early and ardent supporter of modern American art, nurtured groundbreaking artists when audiences were still largely preoccupied with the Old Masters. From her vision arose the Whitney Museum of American Art, which has been championing the most innovative art of the United States for ninety years. The core of the Whitney’s mission is to collect, preserve, interpret, and exhibit American art of our time and serve a wide variety of audiences in celebration of the complexity and diversity of art and culture in the United States. Through this mission and a steadfast commitment to artists, the Whitney has long been a powerful force in support of modern and contemporary art and continues to help define what is innovative and influential in American art today.

View of the Whitney from the southeast. Photograph by Ben Gancsos. Courtesy the Whitney.

Learn more about the Whitney