High Museum of Art Celebrates 100 Years of Shaping Atlanta’s Culture

This is How Atlanta Celebrates the City’s Cultural Beacon

By Mary Welch

Published September 29, 2026

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At a Glance

• The High Museum of Art celebrates 100 years as one of Atlanta’s most important cultural institutions.
• The museum’s history is deeply connected to Atlanta, from its founding in 1926 to its transformation into a leading art museum in the Southeast.
• The 1962 Air France crash profoundly shaped the High’s history, after 106 Atlantans died returning from a cultural trip to Europe.
• The High has grown into an internationally recognized museum, with more than 20,000 works spanning centuries, continents and artistic mediums.
• The museum has expanded its audiences and collections, with visitors of color growing from 15% of attendance in 2015 to 55% today.
• Its Centennial year brings more than 200 new acquisitions, including works by Jacob Lawrence, Grandma Moses and African artists.
• The High is taking art beyond its walls, through public art projects and partnerships involving MARTA, the Atlanta BeltLine, the Atlanta Hawks, Delta Air Lines, UPS and others.

In 1962, an Air France plane crashed on takeoff in Paris. It was a tragedy felt around the world, but especially in Atlanta, where 106 Atlantans died returning home from a cultural trip to Europe. Those victims, many notable Atlantans, visited Europe’s finest museums and were returning to bring their knowledge, insights and excitement to Atlanta and to the High Museum of Art. The loss was so profound to the art world that the French government donated a cast from the 1880 model, “The Shade”, by Auguste Rodin to the Woodruff Arts Center. It still stands proudly in front of the museum. 

But in true Atlanta spirit, the city and the museum used that tragedy to uplift the city, its art museum and community. The High Museum of Art, founded 100 years ago when Mrs. Hattie High donated her stately Peachtree Street mansion to the city, became even more important to Atlantans and visitors. Collectively, we reaffirmed the importance of art and culture. Together we embraced the High Museum of Art tightly and proudly and promised those lost Atlantans that the High Museum will forever be a vital part of Atlanta, its identity and soul. 

And it has. That promise has certainly been fulfilled, and as the High embarks on its second century, it remains a vital, engaging, trailblazing museum and a beacon of the arts for the Southeast and the world. The High Museum of Art is a leading cultural institution for people of all ages, races and incomes. The High Museum of Art is Atlanta. 

From day one, but especially since that fateful day in 1962, the High’s vision was that art should play a central role in shaping public life and, as the city evolved, so has the museum. The High grew from a modest regional institution into one of the nation’s leading art museums and cultural hub for the Southeast. As the city grew, so did the High, often leading the way. 

Just as the city embraced the High, the High has embraced the city — all of it. Under Director Rand Suffolk’s leadership, the High has opened its arms to a wider audience. A prime example of that is the recent exhibition of Amy Herald’s work, the famed artist known for her portrait of former First Lady Michelle Obama. Since 2015, visitors of color have grown from 15 percent of attendance to 55 percent of the museum’s audience. 

“Over the past decade, we have made significant strides toward becoming a profoundly different magnet in Atlanta and to being the art museum that our city deserves,” said Suffolk. “We are poised to enter our next 100 years as a dynamic, intentional and essential contributor to the cultural fabric of our city — an organization, in fact, dedicated to connecting and strengthening our community.” 

Today, the museum holds a collection of more than 20,000 artworks spanning centuries, continents and media — including significant holdings of artwork by Southern artists — all housed in the beautiful building designed by internationally known architects Richard Meir and Renzo Piano.  

The High has an extensive anthology of 19th- and 20th-century American fine and decorative arts; major holdings of photography and folk and self-taught work, especially from artists from the American South. It has a burgeoning collection of contemporary art, including paintings, sculpture, new media and design. It also has significant holdings of European painting and works on paper. 

As befits a museum in the South and from the center of the Civil Rights Movement, it has a growing collection of African art, with work dating from prehistory through the present. 

Since 2016, an average of 61 percent of the High’s exhibitions each year have featured women artists, artists of color and LGBTQIA+ artists. The High also partners with the Atlanta University Center Art History and Curatorial Studies Collective to train the next generation of arts leaders. 

In recent years, the High has also executed initiatives to diversify its collections and the museum field more widely. The David C. Driskell Prize in African American Art and Art History, established by the High in 2005, is the first national award to recognize leading contributions to African American art and art history by US-based African American artists and scholars. Prize alumni include Amy Sherald, Rashid Johnson, Mark Bradford, Naomi Beckwith and more, with scholar Cheryl Finley of Spelman College recently named the 2026 recipient. 

The next 100 years 

From 1926 to 2026, the High Museum of Art has evolved from a regional museum into an internationally recognized institution and an integral part of the Atlanta community. But, in the true Atlanta spirit of reinvention and rising up to greater heights (the phoenix is our symbol, after all!), the next 100 years promise to expand its collections and its audiences. 

Art Activations and Partnerships 

The museum can’t be confined to one space and is increasingly going out into the community to bring art to the people. For example, in partnership with MARTA Artbound, Midtown Alliance and Dash Studio, it will transform the Arts Center Station with vibrant public art installations, and do an off-the-wall project along the Beltline, a nightly five-story digital projection that will turn the facade of The Fourth Hotel into a monumental canvas for four artworks from the High’s collection. 

The High will stage pubic art installations and activations with local, regional and international partners including MARTA, the Atlanta Beltline, the Atlanta Hawks, Havertys, UPS and Delta Air Lines, with product partnerships to be announced. 

Reinstallation of American and African Art 

The High already announced a sweeping reinstallation of the American and African Art Collection Galleries. These new installations will expand traditional categories and unite cross-disciplinary approaches, organized by thematic and material connections rather than purely chronological or linear presentations.  

The reinstallation will also mark the public debut of significant Centennial acquisitions. In the American galleries, these include a rare painting by Jacob Lawrence, a quilt by Carolyn L. Mazloomi, and a work by Grandma Moses; in the African galleries, these include paintings, textiles, prints, drawings and ceramics by artists such as Ben Enwonwu, Ladi Kwali, Nike Okundaye, Bruce Onobrakpeya and Jimoh Akolo. 

Centennial Acquisitions 

In addition to African and American art, the High will introduce more than 200 important additions to the museum’s holdings across photography, contemporary design and contempt art. 

Publication Celebrating the High at 100 

The High will produce a book featuring 100 large-scale reproductions of landmark artworks in the museum’s collection alongside accompanying texts and a photo-rich timeline of the institution’s history. 

Free Admission for Atlanta Public Schools  

To demonstrate its continued commitment to arts education and access, the High will provide free admission to all Atlanta Public Schools for K-12 field trips throughout the 20026-2027 school year. The High welcomes an average of 4,000 Atlanta Public Schools students annually. 

A Revamped Board 

The High will introduce a contemporary rebrand to mark 100 years and lead the institution’s visual identity into the future. 

10 Ways to Celebrate the High at 100

The High Museum of Art’s Centennial year is more than a look back at the past. It’s also an invitation to experience the museum in new ways, from special programs and parties to music, food, architecture and art. Here are 10 ways to celebrate the High’s 100th birthday.

1. Recipe Revival

Wednesday, Oct. 7 | 6:30–8:45 p.m.
Explore “The Recipe Collection”, a cookbook published by the High’s Members Guild in 1981, through the eyes of four Atlanta chefs: Craig Richards, Steven Satterfield, Jiyeon Lee and J. Trent Harris. The chefs will share the stories and inspiration behind the recipes they selected before guests gather for a tasting.

2. UPS Second Sunday

Sunday, Oct. 11 | Noon–5 p.m.
The High’s popular free-admission Sundays get a Centennial twist. Along with free admission, art-making and family programming, visitors can expect special surprises celebrating the museum’s 100th year.

3. Centennial Block Party

Sunday, Oct. 18 | Noon–5 p.m.
The High is taking the celebration outside with a free birthday party on Peachtree Street. Expect live music, DJs, art-making, food vendors and plenty of reasons to bring the whole family—or your friends, neighbors and coworkers—for a day of celebrating the museum and Atlanta.

4. 100 Years of Art in Atlanta

Sunday, Oct. 18 | 3–4 p.m.
Learn how the High evolved alongside the city during a conversation exploring three transformative moments in the museum’s history. The program connects those moments to their impact on Atlanta and considers what they might mean for the High’s next century.

5. Member Centennial Tour: Architecture

Tuesday, Oct. 20 | 11 a.m.–noon
Members can take a special Centennial tour led by a High docent to explore the museum’s architecture and how its spaces interact with the art inside. It’s a chance to look at the High not just as a home for art, but as a work of art itself.

6. Celebrate Access for All: Centennial Celebration

Wednesday, Oct. 21 | 2–4 p.m.
The High’s Access for All program celebrates its centennial with special conversations in the galleries and drop-in art-making sessions. Visitors can come as they are, explore at their own pace and experience the museum through a range of special programs.

7. Walking Tour: 100 Years of High Museum History

Thursday, Oct. 29 | 1:30–3 p.m.
Put on your walking shoes and explore the architects and buildings that have shaped the High over the past century. The tour traces the museum’s architectural history from Walter T. Downing’s design for Hattie High’s home to the work of Richard Meier and Renzo Piano on the current campus, with some hidden surprises along the way.

8. A Haunting at 100: Halloween Party

Friday, Oct. 30 | 6–10 p.m.
For a Centennial celebration with a spooky twist, come in costume for A Haunting at 100. The Halloween party promises an evening of art, costumes and a century’s worth of stories and secrets.

9. High Frequency Friday

Friday, Oct. 2
The museum turns up the volume on the first Friday of every month, bringing together art, music and Atlanta nightlife. Take a guided gallery tour, enjoy a cocktail or dance to DJs as the High becomes one of the city’s liveliest places to start the weekend.

10. Friday Jazz

Friday, Oct. 16
On the third Friday of the month, live jazz fills the High. Guests can enjoy drinks and light bites, explore the galleries, join a docent-led tour and move between two musical areas where musicians perform throughout the evening.

From its humble start 100 years ago, and going forward for the next 100 years, the High Museum of Art’s aim is simple: to bring art and people together. Those art patrons who lost their lives believed that the High Museum of Art could become an internationally respected museum. Together, the museum and Atlantans embraced that vision, and together made Atlanta and the art community proud. 

And we’ve only just begun.  

Arts lover? Explore Atlanta with our Art and Culture Itinerary.

Mary Welch is an award-winning writer who has reported on the maturity off Atlanta’s culinary and hospitality scene as well as its growth as a sophisticated international city. Her byline has been seen in local and national outlets such as the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Travelgirl, Global Atlanta, and American Lawyer covering topics such as travel, business, cars, law, hospitality and education. She co-authored a book with Chuck Leavell, the keyboardist for the Rolling Stones and a Georgia tree farmer, on the future of the American forest.