Houdon at the Louvre: Masterworks of the Enlightenment
June 7 – September 7, 2008
Anne Cox Chambers Wing

Featuring highlights from the Louvre’s unparalleled collection of sculpture by Jean-Antoine Houdon, Houdon at the Louvre: Masterworks of the Enlightenment is the sixth installment of the Louvre Atlanta program, running concurrently with The Louvre and the Ancient World. The exhibition will highlight approximately 20 works that portray intellectual and political leaders, including famous busts of Rousseau, Voltaire, George Washington, Benjamin Franklin and others.

Road to Freedom: Photographs of the Civil Rights Movement, 1956-1968 
June 7 – October 5, 2008
Special Exhibitions Galleries, Wieland Pavilion

Coinciding with the 40th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s assassination, Road to Freedom is the most significant art museum exhibition devoted to the photography of the Civil Rights Movement in more than two decades. Comprising approximately 200 photographs, many of which have never been on public display, the exhibition is drawn primarily from the High’s permanent collection, which contains one of the most comprehensive holdings of Civil Rights–era photography in the country.

After 1968: Contemporary Artists and the Civil Rights Legacy
June 7 – October 5, 2008
Special Exhibitions Galleries, Wieland Pavilion

The High Museum of Art will premiere newly commissioned and recent works, inspired by the Civil Rights Movement and its ongoing relevance, from seven emerging artists and collectives. After 1968: Contemporary Artists and the Civil Rights Legacy will present painting, sculpture, photography, video, sound and light works by Deborah Grant, Leslie Hewitt, Adam Pendleton, Jefferson Pinder, Nadine Robinson, Hank Willis Thomas and Otabenga Jones & Associates. The exhibition will examine the legacy of the Civil Rights Movement while exploring the continuing relevance of progressive social change. In conjunction with the exhibition, the High plans to acquire a work by each of the artists for its permanent collection.

Medieval and Renaissance Treasures from the Victoria and Albert Museum
September 13, 2008 – January 4, 2009
Skyway Level, Stent Family Wing

This exhibition consists of 35 medieval and renaissance masterpieces from one of the world’s finest collections. This internationally traveling exhibition of rare treasures from The Victoria and Albert Museum presents works dating from 300 to 1600 AD, many of which have never before traveled to the U.S. Following the tour, the works will be returned to newly-restored galleries at the Victoria and Albert Museum. Highlights include a Leonardo da Vinci notebook, the Codex Forster I, and the Symmachi Panel, a 5th century Roman ivory panel etched to commemorate a wedding.

Louvre Atlanta: The Louvre and the Masterpiece
October 12, 2008 – September 6, 2009

This exhibition will explore how the definition of a “masterpiece” has changed over time, featuring 91 works of art drawn from all eight of the Musée du Louvre’s collection areas, spanning 4,000 years. Paintings, sculpture, decorative arts, and drawings will reflect three major themes: the changing historical and cultural definitions of a masterpiece; authenticity and connoisseurship; and the evolution of taste and scholarship. Highlights include Jan Vermeer’s The Lacemaker and George de la Tour’s Card Sharp, as well as drawings and prints by Michelangelo, Rembrandt, and Dürer.

Learn more >>

The First Emperor: China’s Terracotta Army 

November 16, 2008 – April 19, 2009
Special Exhibitions Galleries, Wieland Pavilion

A once-in-a-lifetime exhibition comes to Atlanta. The First Emperor: China’s Terracotta Army is inspired by one of the greatest archaeological discoveries of the 20th century. The exhibition includes complete terracotta warrior figures and represents one of the most important groups of works relating to the First Emperor ever to be loaned to the U.S.

Ticket Information and Exhibition Details >>

The Treasure of Ulysses Davis
December 6, 2008 – April 5, 2009
Lower Level, Wieland Pavilion

Ulysses Davis was a Savannah barber who created a body of highly refined sculpture that reflects his deep faith, humor, and dignity. The Treasure of Ulysses Davis will include approximately 125 pieces from the King-Tisdell Cottage Foundation in Savannah, the High, and other public and private collections. Much admired but rarely seen outside Savannah, Davis’s carvings include portraits of U.S. and African leaders; religious images; patriotic symbols; works influenced by African forms; fantasy; flora and fauna; love; humor; abstract decorations; and furniture. The Treasure of Ulysses Davis will also include a group regarded as Davis’s masterwork: a series of forty carved busts of all the U.S. Presidents through George H. W. Bush.