High Museum of Art

The High Museum of Art at 1280 Peachtree St NE in Midtown Atlanta is the largest art museum in the southeastern United States, occupying a complex of buildings designed by architect Richard Meier and expanded by Renzo Piano. The original Meier building, opened in 1983 and recognizable by its white-paneled curvilinear atrium, was joined in 2005 by three additional Piano-designed pavilions, bringing the total footprint to approximately 312,000 square feet across four linked structures.

The permanent collection spans more than 18,000 works organized across four primary areas: American and decorative arts from the colonial period through early modernism; European paintings and sculpture from the 14th through 19th centuries; photography and new media; and folk art and self-taught art. The European holdings include paintings by Rubens, Tiepolo, Monet, and Renoir, as well as a strong representation of Dutch and Flemish Old Masters. The American wing covers portraiture through the Ash Can School. The folk and self-taught art collection — one of the strongest in the United States — includes works by Thornton Dial, Howard Finster, and other artists from the American South.

The light-filled atrium of the Meier building is an architectural highlight in its own right, with a spiraling white ramp connecting four gallery levels above its open interior. Top-floor galleries offer views over Midtown's treetops. Major traveling exhibitions from institutions including the Louvre have visited the High in recent years; the schedule at high.org is worth checking before a visit for any premium exhibitions.

Plan two to three hours for a visit covering the permanent collection highlights. Friday evenings from 5 PM to 9 PM draw smaller crowds and feature special programming. The museum sits directly beside MARTA Arts Center Station on the Red and Gold lines, making it the most transit-accessible major museum in Atlanta.