My Primary Research

Atlanta is very lucky to have such a wonderful art museum as the High Museum of Art.  Its collection contains over 11,000 pieces of art and has a number of exhibitions throughout the year.  My primary research began with doing some search on the internet to learn about the High Museum.   I have not yet visited the museum, but plan to do so on Sunday.

Following is some information I have discovered about the history of the museum.

In 1905, The High Museum began as the Atlanta Art Association.  In 1926, the High family donated their family home on Peachtree Street to the museum.  The museum was named after the High family.   I had no idea the name "High" was named after a family.

A new building was built near the original one in 1955 and the museum moved into that building.

In 1983, the new building was opened as what we recognize as the High Museum of Art.  This building was partially funded by the former president of Coca-Cola, Robert W. Woodruff.  He donated $7.5 million dollars for the building.

The High Museum of Art is featured on www.greatbuildings.com.  This site describes the great architectural buildings in the world and spotlights the architects.  They describe the museum as “modern, straight lined with a curved façade into a sunny atrium museum is constructed out of concrete frame and enameled steel.”  The architect who designed the High Museum of Art is Richard Meier.  In addition to the High Museum of Art, five additional buildings that Meier designed are featured on this website.  It appears to me that Ricahard Meier has one particular style.  All of the buildings look very similar to me.  They are white with a lot of glass and very modern looking.  Interested, I looked at several other buildings by other architects and saw that their buildings were all similar.  I guess an architect has a special style that they like and continue with that style for most of their designs.

Three new buildings were opened in November 2005.  They were designed by Italian architect Renzo Piano.  The three new buildings more than doubled the size of the museum.  They were built in keeping with a similar architectural design as the original one designed by Meier.  When you look at the picture below, you can see that all of the structures look similar to each other.  These three new buildings increased the capacity of the museum to display works of art.  The additional space also allows for educational programs in the Greene Family Education Center.  This education center is a place where visitors can participate in various art activities.  Additionally, the extra space provides a number of ammenites for the ever expanding number of visitors who visit the High Museum.