Asheville Art Museum

The Asheville Art Museum, in Asheville, North Carolina, collects, preserves, and interprets American art of the 20th and 21st centuries, with a focus on work of significance to Western North Carolina and the Southeast.

Permanent Collection

The permanent collection of more than 2,000 objects includes works from nationally known artists such as Thomas Hart Benton, Grant Wood, George Inness, Arshile Gorky, Romare Bearden, Ed Ruscha, Jasper Johns Alex Katz, William Wiley, and Red Grooms.

The museum's permanent collection also explores regional contributions in three focal areas:

Works by artists related to this region, including nationally recognized artists such as Kenneth Noland and Donald Sultan who were born in Asheville and other artists who visited, lived or are living and working locally.
Works by a number of leading modern artists who taught or studied at Black Mountain College, including Josef and Anni Albers, Helen Frankenthaler, Robert Rauschenberg, Ray Johnson, Joseph Fiore, and Robert Motherwell.
Fine handmade objects created in the region. The Museum has works by early residents including the Cherokee, works from Pisgah Forest and other folk potteries, and contemporary studio craft as exemplified by Penland School of Crafts, including work by Mark Peiser, Harvey Littleton, and Cynthia Bringle.

Special Exhibits

The museum presents 15-20 exhibitions each year.

A special exhibition of Appalachian, Cherokee, and Low Country baskets is on display from July 15, 2011 through January 8, 2012.

The Asheville Art Museum also provides hundreds of educational programs every year for audiences of all ages, including K-12th grade and university student tours, summer and winter art camps, after school art programs, adult art classes, artist gallery talks, workshops, book signings, film screenings, symposiums, travel programs, concerts, and special events.