After months of speculation over the fate of the Whitney Museum’s former site – the Marcel Breuer building – which they vacated in 2015 to relocate to New York’s then up-and-coming Meatpacking District, it has been announced that Sotheby’s have purchased the building and intend to make it their headquarters in 2025.

The former site of the Whitney Museum in New York was designed by the Bauhaus-trained architect Marcel Breuer (1902-1981) and constructed in 1966. With its undeniably modernist and brutalist style, the structure contrasted with the traditional buildings of the neighbourhood and became “one of New York City’s most notable buildings” which “identified with the Whitney’s approach to art.”  Before deciding to move entirely, the Whitney museum considered expanding the building, however eventually chose to relocate to the Meatpacking District into a new structure designed by Renzo Piano (b. 1937), an Italian architect known for buildings such as The Shard in London. At the time of the 2015 move, Leonard A. Lauder, one of Whitney’s chairman, had opposed the relocation, but soon realised the potential of the Meatpacking District. “When the discussion started, it was before the completion of the High Line, before Hudson Yards started and before a lot of the major building boom,” Lauder told The Times in 2016. “I was afraid, in truth, that the Whitney would be a lonely institution down in a neighborhood that was waiting to happen. Well, it’s happening.”

Since their move, the Whitney have maintained ownership of the Marcel Breuer building. They leased it to the MET, where it became known as the MET Breuer. The museum presented contemporary exhibitions in the space and spent $15m upgrading it. In 2021, it was leased to the Frick Collection, whose early twentieth century mansion on Fifth Avenue is currently undergoing renovations. Their lease expires in 2024, after which Sotheby’s will begin the transition to their new home.

While the exact amount Sotheby’s paid for the building has not been released, two unidentified people involved with the deal revealed that the figure was around $100m. Sotheby’s chief executive Charles F. Stewart said in a statement that “we are honoured to acquire and write the next chapter of such an iconic and well-known New York architectural landmark,” adding that, “we often refer to the provenance of artwork, and in the case of The Breuer, there is no history richer than the museum which has housed the Whitney, Metropolitan and Frick collections.” Stewart also emphasised the sense of continuity with Sotheby’s taking over the space: “I was very appreciative that they believed we will be great stewards of this building. Open to the public, presenting art – the use of the building will be consistent with the reason it was built. There is a continuum.”

Adam D. Weinberg, the Whitney’s current director, said that the sale was “bittersweet,” but added that “we don’t want to be landlords”. In fact, the sale of the building will add substantially to the Whitney’s endowment and allow them to focus their attention on their new location in New York.

In 2024 Sotheby’s are also opening new flagship galleries in Hong Kong and Paris, as well as a new art storage facility in Long Island City. But their new headquarters in the Breuer building on Madison Avenue will signify a return to the auction house’s roots – they once occupied another building on Madison Avenue, the Parke-Bernet Galleries where the Gagosian now is.