25 December 2024
Art

High Museum of Art

We weren’t planning on stopping at the High Museum of Art, but it was a typical hot and sticky August Atlanta day, so we decided to fill a little extra time by popping in –– after all, it was free with our NARM and ROAM memberships (saving us $37!).

Located in Atlanta, Ga., at 312,000 square feet it is the largest museum for visual arts in the Southeastern United States. 

The museum traces its history to 1905, when it was founded as the Atlanta Art Association. It became the High Museum of Art when the High family donated their home to house the collection in 1926. The current buildings housing the museum were built later.

Alfred Sisley, A Street in Marly, 1876
Grecian Couch, ca 1825; Thomas Doughty, Lake Scene, 1833; Hiram Powers, Bust of Proserpine, ca 1838

The High has more than 18,000 works of art across seven collecting areas: African, American, decorative, European, folk, modern and contemporary, and photography.

Of course, I was most interested in the impressionist collection (European), which included Monet, Renoir, Pissarro, Sisley, and many more.

I enjoyed the decorative arts and design collection, which “explores the merging of function and aesthetics through form, material, process, place, and intent” (per Wikipedia). In other words, I like the idea of taking something built for one purpose, but appreciating it as art. The undated porcelain tureen in the cover photo is an example, as are other photos in the body of the post.

Louis H. Sullivan (architect), Elevator Grill from the Chicago Stock Exchange Building, 1894
Walter Dorwin Teague (Designer), No. 1A Gift Kodak Camera, 1930
Norman Wilfred Lewis, Untitled (Barker and Crowd), ca 1960
Thomas Cole, The Tempest, ca 1826. After touring the Thomas Cole National Historic Site, which had very few Thomas Cole paintings in it, we are always happy to see some in the wild.

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