High Museum of Art facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
High Museum of Art

High Museum of Art
Established	1905
Location	1280 Peachtree Street NE Atlanta, Georgia
Type	Art museum
Public transit access	Arts Center station

The High Museum of Art, often called the High, is the biggest art museum in the Southeastern United States. It's located in Atlanta, Georgia, right in the city's main arts district. The High Museum is a huge place, covering about 312,000 square feet. It's also part of the Woodruff Arts Center.

The High Museum shows amazing art from all over the world. It has a collection of more than 18,000 artworks. The museum is especially known for its American decorative arts, folk art, modern art, and photography.

Since 1905, the High has been a cultural hub in Atlanta. It hosts many events like festivals, live shows, talks, and educational programs. There are also special areas for kids and their families, a restaurant, and a museum shop. In 2010, over 500,000 people visited the High Museum.

History of the High Museum of Art

Retracings, a 1999 digital artwork by Deanna Sirlin

Part of the new addition to the High designed by Renzo Piano

John Singer Sargent, Ralph Curtis on the Beach in Scheveningen, 1880

An Auguste Rodin sculpture The Shade, 1880-81, donated to the High by the French government

The museum started in 1905 as the Atlanta Art Association. In 1926, the High family gave their home on Peachtree Street to the museum. This is how the museum got its name. Many artworks from the collection of J. J. Haverty are now on display at the High. A separate building for the museum was built next to the family home in 1955.

In 1962, a sad event happened. Many art lovers from Atlanta were on a museum trip to Paris. An airplane crash occurred at Orly Airport, and 106 of these patrons passed away. To honor them, the Atlanta Memorial Arts Center was built for the High. The French government also gave the High a sculpture by Auguste Rodin called The Shade. This gift was a way to remember the victims of the crash.

Architecture and Design

In 1983, a new building for the High Museum of Art opened. It was designed by Richard Meier. This building was 135,000 square feet and had about 52,000 square feet of gallery space. Meier won a famous award, the Pritzker Prize, in 1984 for his work on the building.

In 2005, the museum got even bigger. Three new buildings were designed by Renzo Piano. These additions more than doubled the museum's size. The new buildings cost $124 million. They were part of a plan to improve the entire Woodruff Arts Center.

Piano's new buildings have a special roof system. It uses 1,000 "light scoops" to bring natural light into the galleries. All the new buildings are covered in aluminum panels. This matches the white look of Meier's original design.

In 2018, the museum hired Annabelle Selldorf's architecture firm. They helped rearrange the art galleries inside the museum. This made the different art collections flow better together.

Exploring the Art Collection

The interior of the High Museum of Art

The High Museum of Art has a huge collection of over 18,000 artworks. These artworks are divided into seven main areas. These areas include African art, American art, decorative arts, European art, folk art, modern art, and photography. Many new artworks have been added since 1999. Some famous artists in the collection include Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, Claude Monet, and Chuck Close.

African Art Collection

The High's African art collection shows the continent's long and rich history. It includes many different art forms, from ancient times to today. The museum also collects works by artists of African ancestry, including African American artists. This highlights the cultural connections across the Black Atlantic world.

The collection has amazing masks and sculptures. It also features beautiful textiles, beadwork, metalwork, and ceramics. One ancient piece is a terracotta sculpture of a female torso wrapped in snakes. It's from the region of ancient Djenne, one of Africa’s oldest cities.

American Art Collection

The American art collection has more than 1,200 paintings, sculptures, and drawings. These works were made by American artists between 1780 and 1980. The collection shows how American art changed over time. It highlights a unique American way of seeing the world.

The nineteenth-century collection includes works by John Singleton Copley and John Singer Sargent. The High also has art by modern American artists. These include abstract painters and artists focused on social justice.

Decorative Arts and Design

This collection explores how art and function come together. It shows how objects are made, what materials are used, and their purpose. A special part of this collection is the Virginia Carroll Crawford Collection. It's the best collection of 19th and early 20th-century American decorative arts in the Southeast.

It includes works by famous designers like Tiffany & Co. and Frank Lloyd Wright. The collection also has modern international designs. It features over 2,300 objects from 1640 to today. These objects show how art, craft, and design connect.

European Art Collection

Autumn on the Seine, Argenteuil by Claude Monet, 1873

This collection shows seven centuries of European art. It has over 1,000 paintings, sculptures, and works on paper. These pieces span from the 1300s to the 1900s. They show how religion, science, and society changed through art.

In 1958, the Samuel H. Kress Foundation gave many artworks to the High. This became the main part of the European art collection. It includes works from the Renaissance and Baroque periods. The collection now covers most major art movements and styles.

The High has many French Impressionist and Post-Impressionist paintings. These include Claude Monet’s 1873 Autumn of the Seine. There are also paintings by Frédéric Bazille, Henri Matisse, and Pierre-Auguste Renoir. The museum also has many European prints, including works by Albrecht Dürer.

Folk and Self-Taught Art

The High Museum started collecting art by living self-taught artists in 1975. It was the first major museum to have a special department for this type of art in 1994. This collection is strong in artworks by Southern and African American artists. It has the largest groups of works by Bill Traylor and Howard Finster.

These artists are called "folk" because their art comes from the people. They are also called "self-taught" because they didn't go to formal art schools.

Modern and Contemporary Art

This collection at the High Museum shows how art has changed since 1945. It explores new ways of seeing and understanding the world. The collection features works by important artists. It also includes art by newer and emerging artists.

You can see multiple works by artists like Radcliffe Bailey and Alex Katz. There are also significant pieces by artists such as Anish Kapoor and Kara Walker. The collection especially focuses on works by African American artists.

Photography Collection

The High Museum started collecting photographs in the early 1970s. This made it one of the first museums to focus on photography. Today, the photography department is one of the best in the country. It has about 7,500 prints, making it the museum's largest collection.

The collection includes photos from all over the world. It features works by artists, journalists, and scientists. It covers photography from the 1840s to today. The High is especially strong in American modernist and documentary photography from the mid-20th century.

The collection also has many pictures related to the American South. It includes one of the largest collections of photos from the Civil Rights Movement. Since 1996, the High has had a special program called "Picturing the South." It asks photographers to create new work inspired by the South. These commissioned works are then added to the museum's collection.

Gallery

Special Exhibitions

The High Museum often has changing exhibitions. These shows highlight artworks from the museum's own collections. They also feature traveling projects from other museums around the world.

Some popular past exhibitions at the High include Yayoi Kusama: Infinity Mirrors and Virgil Abloh: “Figures of Speech.” The museum has also worked with famous places like the Louvre in Paris. In 2008, the High had a special deal called Louvre Atlanta. This allowed the museum to borrow art from the Louvre for three years.

The High Museum is also connected to the Smithsonian Institution.

Signs for the Annie Leibovitz exhibit at the High Museum of Art

Across from the High during the "Picasso to Warhol" exhibit

Notable Past Exhibitions

• October 2007 – September 2008: Louvre Atlanta: The Louvre and the Ancient World
• November 2008: The First Emperor: China's Terracotta Army
• October 2009 – February 2010: Leonardo da Vinci: The Hand of the Genius
• August 2010 – January 2011: Dali: The Late Work
• October 2011 – April 2012: Picasso to Warhol – featuring art by Picasso, Pollock, and Warhol.
• February 2013 – May 2013: Frida and Diego: Passion, Politics, and Painting – art from Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera.
• June 2013 – September 2013: The Girl with the Pearl Earring: Dutch Paintings from the Mauritshuis – featuring art by Vermeer and Rembrandt.
• November 2018 – February 2019: Yayoi Kusama: Infinity Mirrors
• November 2019 – March 2020: Virgil Abloh: "Figures of Speech"
• January 2022 – March 2022: The Obama Portraits Tour

Museum Leadership

From 1963 to 1991, Gudmund Vigtel was the director of the High Museum. He helped turn it from a small local museum into a major art museum. During his time, the museum's art collection tripled in size. Its budget also grew a lot, and the staff increased from four to 150 people.

Later, Michael E. Shapiro was director from 2000 to 2014. During his leadership, the museum almost doubled its permanent collection. It also raised nearly $230 million. In 2015, Randall Suffolk became the new director. Under his guidance, the museum has welcomed a more diverse audience. By 2022, about 60 percent of visitors were under 35 years old.

The High Museum in Film and TV

The High Museum has been a filming location for several movies and TV shows. It has appeared as different places in these productions:

• The Resident (as Chastain Park Memorial Hospital)
• What to Expect When You're Expecting
• The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (as the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum)
• Manhunter (as Lecktor's prison)
• Black Panther (as the Museum of Great Britain)
• The Divergent Series: Insurgent
• Red Band Society
• Allegiant (as the former Erudite Headquarters)

See also

In Spanish: High Museum of Art para niños

• List of largest art museums