Gibbes Museum of Art

Introduction

Text-to-speech Audio

Founded in 1905, the Gibbes Museum of Art is a fine art museum featuring works from Charleston, the South, and around the country. The collection contains more than 10,000 works of art that span four centuries of American history. These include paintings, sculptures, works on paper, decorative art objects, multi-media installations, and a well-known collection of 600 miniature portraits. The museum is named after benefactor James Gibbes, whose will included funds to help built an art an exhibition hall. The Gibbes is a contributing property of the Charleston Historic District, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is a National Historic Landmark District.

Images

The Gibbes Museum of Art opened in 1905 and houses a collection of over 10,000 works of art primarily from Charleston and the South.

Backstory and Context

Text-to-speech Audio

In the 18th century, Charleston was home to some of the country's first art collectors and was the fourth largest city in the nation. The museum's origins date to 1858 when the Carolina Art Association was established to promote fine arts in the state. It held exhibitions and was chartered in December of that year. After Gibbes died in 1888, he left a bequest of $100,000 for the creation of a "building suitable for the exhibition of paintings..." Its construction didn't begin for many years but it was completed in 1905 and named the Gibbes Memorial Art Gallery. Architect Frank P. Milburn designed it in the Beaux-Arts style. The building also housed the Carolina Art Association.

Over the following decades, the museum developed its educational programs and expanded its collection. A studio art school was established in 1920, and the museum's first director, Robert Whiteclaw, was hired in 1932. Whiteclaw was responsible for determining the scope of the policy to focus on collecting art from the South. In 1936, the museum hosted the first public exhibition of Solomon R. Guggenheim's collection of modern art, which included works by Chagall, Picasso, and Kandinsky. In 1969, the Gibbes School of Art was established and three years later, the Gibbes became one of the first museums in the southeast to receive accreditation from what is now called the American Alliance of Museums. The museum was enlarged and renovated in 1978 and again in 2011.

The museum's permanent exhibits examine 18th and 19th century American paintings, sculpture, and decorative arts; 20th century American regionalism and the Charleston renaissance; the collection of the miniature portraits; and contemporary art. There is also a large installation called Betwixt and Between by artist Patrick Dougherty.

Sources

"About." Gibbes Museum of Art. Accessed April 7, 2021. https://www.gibbesmuseum.org/about.

"Gibbes Museum of Art." Google Arts & Culture. Accessed April 7, 2021. https://artsandculture.google.com/partner/gibbes-museum-of-art.

"History Timeline." Gibbes Museum of Art. Accessed April 7, 2021. https://www.gibbesmuseum.org/about/history.

Image Sources(Click to expand)

MCG Photography, via Wikimedia Commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:GibbesMuseumofArt.jpg