Art in Atlanta
In the early twentieth century, the Atlanta College of Art fostered the growth of contemporary art in Atlanta. The High Museum’s Southeastern Annual Exhibition advanced the development of contemporary art in the 1940s through the 1960s, and purchases from the exhibition helped build the Museum’s fledgling art collection. In the 1970s and 1980s, contemporary art programs at commercial galleries in Atlanta and at Georgia State University led to a dynamic cross-pollination that greatly advanced the city’s visual arts community, which today includes artist-run galleries, co-ops, and street artists. These aspects of Atlanta’s visual culture are reflected in the Museum’s growing collection of paintings and drawings by Atlanta-based artists.