The High Reaches Higher
by Art Howard

Published circa April 22nd, 2005

"It's about seeing or experiencing things that are different, that are excellent, that are hopefully even transporting in some way," says David Brenneman, Chief Curator for the High Museum of Art. Atlantans will have increased odds of having this experience when the High, already the largest art museum in the Southeast, doubles its size this November.

The current building at 1280 Peachtree Street, designed by Richard Meier and recipient of a 1991 citation from the American Institute of Architects as one of the "ten best works of American architecture of the 1980s," will remain in place. Three new buildings designed by architect Renzo Piano of Genoa, Italy will adjoin the building in what the museum says will be a seamless design. A High press release quotes the architect, "Atlanta is a city in tune with nature, so in designing the High and the Woodruff Arts Center I wanted to create a light-filled, unified campus that embraces the landscape and engages with its surroundings." Renzo Piano's previous projects include the Pompidou Centre in Paris and Switzerland's Museum Beyeler; current projects include The New York Times building and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

New additions are an administrative building, an Anne Cox Chambers Wing (named for the co-owner of Cox Communications and The Atlanta Journal-Constitution) and Wieland Pavilion. The Chambers Wing and Wieland Pavilion will hold the modern and contemporary collections and the Pavilion will also feature a coffee bar, restaurant and outdoor terrace. The current building will be renamed the Stent Family Wing due to a generous donation from current Board Chairman Terry Stent. It will house European art of the Renaissance up to late 20th century American art from masters like Georgia O'Keefe. The folk art collection, currently in the basement of the Georgia-Pacific building, will be moved to this location as well

Brenneman says due to the expansion much of the High's African, folk and contemporary collections will be on display for the first time. "We're very proud of those collections. In terms of contemporary art we've been acquiring works by contemporary masters such as Ellsworth Kelly and we have four paintings by him that will be on view. We have a really wonderful collection of African art given to us by a New York couple by the name of Fred and Rita Richman that is comprised mainly of African sculpture. I don't know if you know anything about African art but most people don't and that will be a new experience for them."

The curator says that the expansion was necessary due to simple public demand, "The fact is that people are hungry for great things, or things that they've heard about but have never actually seen. So we've found ourselves in the position of being a museum that was verging on being too small to satisfy this hunger." He believes the restaurant and coffee bar will enhance a day at the High, "Our feeling is that going to a museum doesn't have to be just about looking at art. It's about having a pleasurable cultural experience."

The High's expansion is the result of $130 million in donations raised since 1998. The largest donation of $12 million came from former Chairman of the High's Board of Directors, John Wieland and his wife, Sue.

The High reports receiving approximately 350,000 visitors a year and has 41,000 households in its membership, one of the 10 highest memberships of any museum in the United States.

Read the companion piece about Howard Finster here.