Atlanta, Georgia is quickly becoming renowned for its involvement in the arts. It has long been a hot spot for the music industry, and over the past decade has seen a meteoric rise in the film industry and is now dubbed as the Hollywood of the South. Another popular and long-standing location to experience the arts in Atlanta is at the High Museum of Art.
The High Museum is home to numerous collections that include not only celebrated European paintings, but also provocative photographs, decorative arts and design, modern and contemporary art, African, American, and Folk Art. Here you will find Monet’s Houses of Parliament in the Fog, Renoir’s Woman Arranging Her Hat, poignant photographs depicting the Civil Rights Movement, Basquiat’s Untitled (Cadmium), and Georgia O’Keeffe’s Red Canna. The High has curated a broad collection that spans countless mediums and is inclusive of many different types of artists.
The High Museum of Art was founded in 1905 and was originally named the Atlanta Art Association. It received its first permanent home and name in 1926 when Mrs. Joseph M. High donated her family’s residence on Peachtree Street to the association. The museum relocated in 1955 to a newer building that was adjacent to the original location. It now resides in a new facility designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Richard Meier in 1983 and had since won many design awards.
Over the years the museum has received generous donations from donors including J.J. Havery, an early High Museum patron and prominent collector, the Samuel H. Kress Foundation, which donated 29 Renaissance and Baroque paintings and sculptures, and Lucinda Weil Bunnen who’s photography donation would become the core of the museum’s photography holdings. The High Museum currently has the care of 11,000 pieces of art, and frequently welcomes several visiting exhibitions, which accounts for it being one of the nation’s leading art museums in the Southeast.
In an effort to offer an interactive and immersive experience, The High Museum has been collaborating with artists and designers since 2014 to create accessible installations for the central Sifly Piazza each summer. The exterior installations are free to the public and aim to make the facility more welcoming to the community. In addition to its exterior outreach efforts, the museum also offers numerous events to involve the community. It is involved with a major family-audiences initiative that began in 2015 that encourages family visitors to participate in Second Sundays, Family Festivals, and a series of exhibitions of original picture-book art. The Museum also offers virtual events that encourage the younger generations to explore art through art projects, stories, and tours. Students and teachers from all metropolitan schools are encouraged to visit for educational field trips, and this is possible due to their Art Access Program, which is supported by donors to allow Title I school students to visit without worrying about possible economic barriers.
Art museums are a place of wonder, awe, and inspiration. The High Museum of Art is no exception as it continues its efforts to spark the imaginations of all who visit there.
Another place to Enjoy Around town is Piedmont Park
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