Georgia State Art Museum

Georgia Museum of Art at the University of Georgia, Athens

Athens, Georgia

Adopted on April 16, 1982

The Georgia Museum of Art at the University of Georgia, Athens was named the state museum of art of the State of Georgia when House Resolution No. 782 was approved on April 16, 1982.

The Georgia Museum of Art shares the mission of the University of Georgia to support and to promote teaching, research, and service. Specifically, as a repository and educational instrument of the visual arts, the museum exists to collect, preserve, exhibit, and interpret significant works of art.

Georgia State Art Museum: Georgia Museum of Art

Past and Present

The Georgia Museum of Art, on the campus of the University of Georgia, in Athens, is both an academic museum and, since 1982, the official art museum of the state of Georgia. The permanent collection consists of American paintings, primarily 19th- and 20th-century; American, European and Asian works on paper; the Samuel H. Kress Study Collection of Italian Renaissance paintings; and growing collections of southern decorative arts and Asian art.

From the time it was opened to the public in 1948 in the basement of an old library on the university's historic North Campus, the museum has grown consistently both in the size of its collection and in the size of its facilities. Today the museum occupies a contemporary building in the Performing and Visual Arts Complex on the university's burgeoning east campus. There, 79,000 square feet house more than 8,000 objects in the museum's permanent collection- a dramatic leap from the core of 100 paintings donated by the museum's founder, Alfred Heber Holbrook.

In 2011, the museum occupies an expanded contemporary building, with additions and renovations designed by Gluckman Mayner Architects, in the Performing and Visual Arts Complex on the university's burgeoning East Campus. New galleries display the permanent collection, and visitors enjoy an outdoor sculpture garden and expanded lobby.

The museum continues to balance its dual designation as an academic museum with its role as the official state art museum of Georgia. Its schedule is a reflection of the academic study of the history of art and a broader array of popular exhibitions that appeal to all audiences. From the time Alfred Holbrook first loaded works from his art collection in the trunk of his car to share with Georgia's schoolchildren until today, when the museum staff crisscrosses the state of Georgia to present a variety of educational programs, the Georgia Museum of Art has made the state a richer and more culturally viable place to live.

Georgia Museum of Art · 90 Carlton Street · Athens, Georgia 30602 · Phone: (706) 542-GMOA · Fax: (706) 542-1051

Georgia House Resolution No. 782

H.R. 782
HOUSE RESOLUTION

A RESOLUTION Designating the Georgia Museum of Art at the University of Georgia as the State Museum of Art of the State of Georgia; and for other purposes.

WHEREAS, the Georgia Museum of Art was established by the gift of Alfred Heber Holbrook of the Eva Underhill Holbrook Collection of American Art to the University of Georgia in 1945; and the committee of education of the board of regents in 1948 reported the establishment of the museum to the board of regents; and

WHEREAS, the collections of the museum now include some 5,000 works of art which are a great treasure that is available to all Georgians; and

WHEREAS, it is appropriate that the significance of this institution to the State of Georgia and to all Georgians be recognized and declared by the General Assembly.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA that the Georgia Museum of Art at the University of Georgia is designated the State Museum of Art of the State of Georgia.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Clerk of the House of Representatives is hereby authorized and directed to transmit an appropriate copy of this resolution to the director of the museum.

Approval Date: Approved April 16, 1982.