Since 1905 · Atlanta, American art, Europe, Africa and global modernity

The High Museum connects the visual history of the American South to American, European, African, modern, contemporary, photographic and self-taught art.

The High Museum of Art has its origins in the Atlanta Art Association founded in 1905. In 1926, the High family gave up their residence on Peachtree Street to house the museum. Its architectural development accompanies the rise of Atlanta: building by Richard Meier inaugurated in 1983, then extension designed by Renzo Piano opened in 2005. The collection today exceeds twenty thousand works. It is divided between African arts, American art, decorative arts and design, art european, popular and self-taught art, modern and contemporary art, and photography. This structure gives a special place to stories from the South, African-American artists and creators trained outside academic circuits. THE european funds cover approximately six centuries. The works selected here follow another strong line: the transformation of light between impressionism and modernity. In Parliament, Symphony in Blue, Monet dissolves Westminster in the fog and reflections of the Thames. Autumn on the Seine in Argenteuil combines season, water and modern outskirts. Renoir built Calvary and the Church of Nizon with a luminous touch that unites architecture and countryside breton. Woman sitting in front of her piano by Matisse finally tightens space, color and appears in an interior scene. Together, these works show how an international collection can dialogue with the local mission of the High: represent several communities and several ways of telling the story of modernity. The "High Museum of Art" selection notably compares Parliament, Symphony in Blue and Autumn on the Seine, Argenteuil. Its reading favors composition.

In Atlanta, the High built an open collection: art history met Southern voices, photography, design and self-taught practices.