Gibbes Museum of Art
Downtown. 135 Meeting St. 722-2706
Ten years is a drop in the bucket to the Carolina Art Association, which will soon celebrate its 150th Anniversary. But since the CAA’s Gibbes Museum of Art — 101 years young itself — was first voted top museum by readers in 1998, the institution has remained a rock-solid attraction for history and art buffs, staging a number of memorable shows and making a few ripples along the way.
During Executive Director Paul Figueroa’s reign, stately (i.e. incredibly boring) retrospective exhibitions far outweighed edgy contemporary shows. Betsy Fleming took a slightly more experimental tack, testing local tastes with a heavier emphasis on abstract work. The newest director, Todd Smith, seeks to stretch what visitors expect to find in a museum with more progressive art by new, young artists. That makes the Gibbes the only place where you can find video art, macramé sculptures, and 18th-century landscapes all under one roof.
All three recent directors have been sure of one thing — part of the Gibbes’ success is due to its visual take on Southern history, whether you’re intrigued by life 300 years ago or only 10.
1998
* From Desert & Oasis: Arts Of The People Of Central Asia
* American Impressionism From The Sheldon Memorial Art Gallery
* The Charleston Renaissance: Anna Heyward Taylor
* Bearing Witness: Contemporary Works By African American Women
1999
* Edward Rice: Selected Architectural Paintings, 1978-1998
* In Pursuit Of Refinement: Charlestonians Abroad 1740-1860
* Trains that Passed in the Night: The Railroad Photography of Winston O. Link
*Water: A Contemporary American View
2000
* Picasso Ceramics & Picasso — Mon Ami
* Ashepoo, Combahee and Edisto
* Beyond the Spanish Moss: The Contemporary Perspective in Charleston
* Communion Of The Spirits: The Stories Of African American Quilts
2001
From Ship to Shore: Marine Paintings from the Butler Institute of American Art
Frank Stella – Imaginary Landscapes
The Charleston Photographs Of George W. Johnson
The Rothschild Family Gift: Works By Otto Neumann (1895-1975)
2002
Director Paul Figueroa resigns. New Director Betsy Fleming starts.
* Ansel Adams: A Celebration
* Visions And Views: The Landscape Prints Of Hiroshige
* A Portion of the People: 300 Years of Southern Jewish Life
* Reality And Imagery: Selections From The Photography Collection
2003
* Works By Warhol: From the Cochran Collection
* Face Lift: Fresh Encounters with Portraiture at the Gibbes Museum of Art
* The Human Comedy: Portraits by Red Grooms
* In Love with the Lowcountry: Photographs by Tom Blagden, Jr. and Michael Johnson
2004
* Myths and Metaphors: The Art of Leo Twiggs
* Rhythms of Life: The Art of Jonathan Green
* Whistler and Japonisme: Etchings from the Vreede Collection
* Framing a Vision: Landscapes by Linda Fantuzzo and Manning Williams
2005
Betsy Fleming resigns to become Converse College President.
* Beyond Representation: Abstract Art in the South
* An American Impressionist: The Art and Life of Alson Skinner Clark
* 100 Years at the Gibbes
* Ernest Hemingway and Walker Evans: Three Weeks in Cuba, 1933
2006
Todd D. Smith made director.
* Edward Hopper in Charleston
* Made in China: Export Porcelain from the Leo and Doris Hodroff Collection at Winterthur
* Now!
2007
Grandeur Saved: Photographs of the Aiken-Rhett House by Michael Eastman
Southern Masterpieces: Charleston before 1835
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