The Hunter Museum of American Art is an art museum in

Chattanooga Chattanooga ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States. Located along the Tennessee River bordering Georgia, it also extends into Marion County on its western end. With a population of 181,099 in 2020, ...

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

. The museum's collections include works representing the Hudson River School, 19th century

genre painting Genre painting (or petit genre), a form of genre art, depicts aspects of everyday life by portraying ordinary people engaged in common activities. One common definition of a genre scene is that it shows figures to whom no identity can be attached ...

, American Impressionism, the Ashcan School, early

modernism Modernism is both a philosophy, philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western world, Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new fo ...

regionalism Regionalism may refer to: * Regionalism (art), an American realist modern art movement that was popular during the 1930s * Regionalism (international relations), the expression of a common sense of identity and purpose combined with the creation a ...

, and post-

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

modern and

contemporary art Contemporary art is the art of today, produced in the second half of the 20th century or in the 21st century. Contemporary artists work in a globally influenced, culturally diverse, and technologically advancing world. Their art is a dynamic com ...

. The building itself represents three distinct architectural stages: the original 1904

classical revival Neoclassical architecture is an architectural style produced by the Neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century in Italy and France. It became one of the most prominent architectural styles in the Western world. The prevailing style ...

mansion designed by

Abram Garfield Abram Garfield (November 21, 1872 – October 16, 1958) was the youngest son of President James A. Garfield and Lucretia Rudolph Garfield, and an architect who practiced in Cleveland, Ohio. Biography Garfield received a Bachelor of Arts from W ...

, the son of president James A. Garfield, which has housed the museum since its opening in 1952, a

brutalist Brutalist architecture is an architectural style that emerged during the 1950s in the United Kingdom, among the reconstruction projects of the post-war era. Brutalist buildings are characterised by Minimalism (art), minimalist constructions th ...

addition built in 1975, and a 2005 addition designed by

Randall Stout Randall Paul Stout (May 6, 1958 – July 11, 2014) was a Los Angeles, California based architect. Early life and education Born and raised in Tennessee, Stout held a Bachelor of Architecture from the University of Tennessee and a Master of A ...

which now serves as the entrance to the museum.

Location

The museum is situated on an bluff overlooking the

Tennessee River The Tennessee River is the largest tributary of the Ohio River. It is approximately long and is located in the southeastern United States in the Tennessee Valley. The river was once popularly known as the Cherokee River, among other names, ...

and downtown Chattanooga. The Faxon House, built in 1904, was built where a Confederate battery had been emplaced. Once a prestigious address for Victorian houses, the area is now home to the Bluff View Art District. The museum sits on a bluff that overlooks the Walnut Street Bridge. The Ruth S. and A. William Holmberg Pedestrian Bridge provides a pedestrian-friendly connection to the nearby Walnut Street Bridge and riverfront attractions.

History

The Hunter Museum is named after George Hunter, who inherited the Coca-Cola Bottling empire from his uncle Benjamin Thomas. Thomas was one of the entrepreneurs who created Chattanooga's Coca-Cola bottling empire. Their nephew, George Hunter, later joined Anne Thomas to create a philanthropic organization in Hunter's memory named the

Benwood Foundation The Benwood Foundation is a charitable foundation created in 1944 by George Hunter in honor of his uncle, Benjamin Thomas who pioneered the Coca-Cola bottling industry and founded the Coca-Cola Bottling Company. George Hunter was the heir of Benj ...

. The foundation's mission was to "promote religious, charitable, scientific, literary and educational activities for the advancement or well being of mankind". The centerpiece of the Benwood Foundation's gifts to the community of Chattanooga is the Hunter Museum of American Art, originally known as the Ross Faxon House.

Expansion

In 2002 the Hunter Museum of American Art partnered with the City of Chattanooga, the Tennessee Aquarium and the Creative Discovery Museum to finish the 21st Century Waterfront Plan. "The Hunter Museum portion of the project included a $22 million expansion and renovation, designed by Randall Stout that was completed in 2005. The project included 28,000 square feet of new construction, 34,000 square feet of renovation, a new entrance, a temporary exhibition space, restoration of the mansion, the creation of an outdoor sculpture and a complete reinstallation of the Museum's permanent collection."

Present day

The Hunter Museum of American Art includes 100 years of architectures and the most complete collection of American art in the Southeast. The museum also travels nationally for exhibits and curated shows. "The collection spans from the colonial period to present day and covers a wide variety of media including painting, sculpture, contemporary studio glass, and crafts." In 2006 the museum received national recognition from the Innovative Design in Engineering and Architecture with Structural Steels awards program. "The award recognizes outstanding achievements in engineering and architecture on structural steel projects around the country. The Hunter Museum project earned Merit Award recognition in the category of Projects $15–$75 million." In June 2015, the Hunter Museum of Art announced on their official website that they had chosen a new executive director, Virginia Ann Sharber.

References

External links

*
Benwood Foundation
{{authority control Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Tennessee Colonial Revival architecture in Tennessee Art museums and galleries in Tennessee Museums of American art Museums in Chattanooga, Tennessee Art museums established in 1952 1952 establishments in Tennessee Institutions accredited by the American Alliance of Museums Houses in Hamilton County, Tennessee National Register of Historic Places in Chattanooga, Tennessee Brutalist architecture in Tennessee