Featuring works inspired by nature, one of art’s most timeless subjects
ATLANTA, March 24, 2026 — This summer, the High Museum of Art will present “Paper Trees” (July 31, 2026-Feb. 21, 2027), an exhibition that ponders the role and presence of trees in American art from the 19th century to the present. Featuring nearly 50 prints, drawings and sculptures from the High’s collection as well as loans from the Robert C. Williams Museum of Papermaking and Clark Atlanta University Art Museum, the exhibition will trace different schools of thought in the depiction and representation of landscape and the natural world.
“By bringing these works together, we invite audiences to consider how artists have helped inspire reverence for nature, using the tree as a beautiful symbol of life,” said Rand Suffolk, director of the High.
In addition to a core selection of 19th- and 20th-century prints and works on paper from the High’s American collection, the exhibition will feature modern and contemporary works from across the museum’s collecting areas, including folk and self-taught art and decorative arts and design. Together, the artworks forefront the tree as the primary visual vehicle for the study of nature, from unfinished sketches made en plein air (drawn from life in nature rather than in a studio environment) to finished works made of or after trees as material and metaphor.
“The exhibition is an artist-driven exploration of the relationship between the visual arts and the natural world. While organized around the idea of the tree study, each artwork widens our understanding of the genre and emphasizes artistic practice and technique across multiple schools of art,” said Anni Pullagura, the High’s Margaret and Terry Stent associate curator of American art. “We’re particularly thrilled to be able to present rarely seen objects from the museum’s holdings of American works on paper, and to see these artworks in dialogue with root sculptures and woodturning, showing the multiple ways that trees and treelife continue to inspire artistic practice today.”
“Paper Trees” will be presented in the Works on Paper Gallery in the Lower Level of the High’s Wieland Pavilion.
Exhibition Organization and Support
“Paper Trees” is organized by the High Museum of Art, Atlanta. This exhibition is made possible by Premier Exhibition Series Sponsor Delta Air Lines, Inc.; Premier Exhibition Series Supporters Sarah and Jim Kennedy; Major Exhibition Series Supporter The Fay S. and W. Barrett Howell Family Foundation; Major Exhibition Series Sponsor Harry Norman Realtors; Benefactor Exhibition Series Supporters Robin and Hilton Howell; Ambassador Exhibition Series Supporters Sara and Paul Steinfeld, Mrs. Harriet H. Warren; Contributing Exhibition Series Supporters Mary and Neil Johnson, Mr. and Mrs. Baxter Jones, Megan and Garrett Langley, Margot and Danny McCaul, Wade A. Rakes II and Nicholas Miller, Louise Sams and Jerome Grilhot, Lisa Cannon Taylor and Chuck Taylor; Generous support is also provided by Alfred and Adele Davis Exhibition Endowment Fund, Anne Cox Chambers Exhibition Fund, Barbara Stewart Exhibition Fund, Dorothy Smith Hopkins Exhibition Endowment Fund, Eleanor McDonald Storza Exhibition Endowment Fund, The Fay and Barrett Howell Exhibition Fund, Forward Arts Foundation Exhibition Endowment Fund, Helen S. Lanier Endowment Fund, John H. and Wilhelmina D. Harland Exhibition Endowment Fund, Katherine Murphy Riley Special Exhibition Endowment Fund, Margaretta Taylor Exhibition Fund, RJR Nabisco Exhibition Endowment Fund.
About the High Museum of Art
Located in the heart of Atlanta, the High Museum of Art connects with audiences from across the Southeast and around the world through its distinguished collection, dynamic schedule of special exhibitions and engaging community-focused programs. Housed within facilities designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architects Richard Meier and Renzo Piano, the High features a collection of more than 20,000 works of art, including an extensive anthology of 19th- and 20th-century American fine and decorative arts; major holdings of photography and folk and self-taught work, especially that of artists from the American South; burgeoning collections of modern and contemporary art, including paintings, sculpture, new media and design; a growing collection of African art, with work dating from prehistory through the present; and significant holdings of European paintings and works on paper. The High is dedicated to reflecting the diversity of its communities and offering a variety of exhibitions and educational programs that engage visitors with the world of art, the lives of artists and the creative process. For more information, visit the High’s website.
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