High Museum of Art
European and American art, photography, decorative arts, African art, folk and self-taught work, and contemporary installations occupy a white ramped campus designed by Richard Meier and expanded by Renzo Piano.
Artwork inspired by Alma Thomas
At the High, the relationship between art and architecture shapes the entire visit. Richard Meier’s bright, vertical circulation turns movement between levels into part of the encounter, while Renzo Piano’s lower galleries and piazza create a contrasting sense of scale. That dialogue gives the museum’s broad collection a character beyond that of a conventional survey.
Build the visit around contrasts: cross between buildings, compare how each frames artworks, and place folk and self-taught Southern art beside European, American, photographic, decorative, or contemporary work. Choosing two collection areas and one temporary exhibition leaves enough time to notice regional makers and the architectural shifts that shape interpretation.
- Meier atrium ramps
- Architectural circulation
- folk and self-taught galleries
- Self-taught Southern art
- Piano piazza
- Renzo Piano expansion
Quick guide
- Best comparison
- Watch the same artwork scale feel different in the Meier and Piano buildings.
- Georgia thread
- Look for regional makers beyond the museum’s most heavily promoted international names.
Let the buildings edit the collection
- Enter through
- Follow the Meier atrium ramp once, watching how daylight and white surfaces frame each change in level.
- Seek out
- Give folk and self-taught art equal time with the headline European and contemporary galleries.
- Cross the piazza
- Compare Renzo Piano’s lower, broader rooms with Meier’s vertical circulation before choosing a second medium.
- Keep it focused
- Spend two to four hours on two collection areas and one temporary exhibition, not every ramp.
Good to know
Begin with one collection floor, cross the piazza, and return through a second medium instead of climbing every ramp in sequence.
Notice these
- Meier atrium ramps
- folk and self-taught galleries
- Piano piazza