Reflections of My Visit to the High Museum

Sunday, February 6,^, 2011 was my first visit to the High Museum of Art in Atlanta. 

I went with my mom and she was very excited about our mother daughter day. 

We first started out viewing the Toulouse-Lautrec exhibit.  There were statues made of bronze and marble. The two sculptures that stood out most to me were of two young girls.  One statue was of a little Greek girl with a lovely face and long braids.  The other statue was of a young Abyssian slave girl with tears rolling down her face.  These statues were created from bronze and were made around the 1860s.

Next, we went into the main building where there were four levels of art.  The museum was a lot larger than I thought it would be.  It was very beautiful.  The floors were pretty wooden floors that squeaked when you walked on them.  The staircase was kind of circular around the outer edge of the building.  It was stairs, but more like a ramp, so that wheelchairs and strollers could easily move from floor to floor.  The high walls were white and the interior was very well lit. 

I found a lot of interesting paintings, sculptures, glass and furniture. 

My favorite of these paintings were by the French Impressionists which were located in the European Art section.  There were some paintings by Claude Monet, Pierre-Auguste Renior, and Camille Pissarro.  One of my favorite paintings was by Camille Pissarro.  It was named “Snowscape with Cows at Montfoucault.”  Pissarro is one of my mom’s favorite artists and surprisingly I can now see why she appreciates her work. 

 I saw one painting which really stirred up some emotion in me.  The painting “The Funeral of Atala” by Girodet-Trioson depicted the sorrow and loss of a young man burying his love.  The painting was oil on canvas and the colors were so bright and vivid.  The painting truly was beautiful.  It gave me a new respect for oil on canvas painting. 

There were some amazing sculptures carved from marble.  I loved the pretty white of the marble better than the bronze.  It was so smooth and clean looking.  There were two sculptures of Pocahontas and there was one of Cleopatra.  There were also two really beautiful sculptures of little girls.  They were in their nightgowns with some Christmas presents.  They were very lovely. 

I really loved the glass decorative sculptures also.  I would love to have these kinds of glassware in my house.  The colors were so beautiful.  Some colors were soft and muted, while others were more vivid.  Some had unique shapes, while others were more familiar in shape.  There was one pink glassware that was so beautiful; I would have loved to have purchased it if they had had a replica in the gift shop.

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.

High Museum of Art

After bouncing around from place to place to place, I have finally settled on a place for my Ethnography of Place Inquiry Project.  I have chosed to research the High Museum of Art in Atlanta.  I have never been to the museum, but have wanted to go.  Now, I will have the opportunity to go twice.