Maud Gatewood once said, “[Art] is like people: If you meet a person that's absolutely pleasant, they tend to be innocuous. Nothing's worse than being pleasant.” Another time she said, “I think you learn that life isn't always straightforward. Ambiguity might be the heart of life as well as art.”

Louisiana native Herbert Singleton’s brightly painted woodcarvings are often autobiographica. However, he also carved biblical stories, Voodoo icons, and scenes of local African-American cultural traditions. He had his own voice, a very strong

A most unusual sunset… the sky along the horizon was as red as a pigeon-blood ruby; it was as though the sun shone through a stained glass window. … Slowly the color faded from the sky and the distant

Early on, Charlotte-born and Harlem-raised Bearden debated whether to be an artist, a musician, or a professional baseball player. Deciding on art, he used ideas from math and music, especially jazz, along with aspects of his many other influences. As a result

Durand was passionate about nature, it made him fundamentally happy to be in it, of it, to look at it, absorb it, paint it. For Durand, painting nature was a form of self-expression, communicating

In an interview in 1977, Marjorie’s sister Gwendoline said of Marjorie that “she wanted to be a sculptor since kindergarten when she first worked with colored clay. Daddy was so proud of everything she did.”

The Violinist is also a rather dramatic illustration of the value of proper conservation of any work of art. As had been the practice for hundreds of years and

Here is the painter of the works of Grandfather Mountain and the Grand Canyon that will be featured in the big HMA exhibit December 8, 2018 - April 20, 2019

The painting was presented anonymously to … the most inspiring art museum I know, that specializes in competent American art since 1850 – the Hickory Museum of Art. Its director, Paul W, Whitener, as honest as Lincoln, I think of as

Supposedly A. Alex Shuford said to Paul Whitener in March 1944 that “If you’re going to have a museum, you’ve got to have paintings”; and then

"The importance of art in awakening a sense of the appreciation of beauty cannot be measured. Even meager training in Art opens the eyes. Nothing is ever quite the same once you have learned enough about art to see the color variations in the trees, or the clouds – why,” he said, smiling broadly, “suddenly you realize there’s more beauty in one day than you could exhaust in a century.“

A taste of exhibits big and small. events, classes and programs through the celebratory months of the Museum’s 75th Anniversary. A few surprises too!

Frank Stanley Herring was a friend of the family of Mickey Coe (Mildred McKinney, Paul Whitener’s future wife) and his first paintings of that family was of Mickey and two of her sisters. From left to right, with approximate ages, are

HMA invites you to join the continuing journey with a brand-new 2018-2021 Strategic Plan! The full plan is now available for you on our web site.

They settled in Hickory where Paul nurtured his artistic talents and pursued his ambition to establish an art museum for Hickory, while Mickey actively supported his endeavors in both areas in a number of ways including

… That location served well as a museum for the most part, except perhaps the time when the floor of the main gallery caved during a crowded reception. As Paul's steadfastly supportive and collaborative wife Mickey reminisced in 1984,

During our 75th Anniversary celebration, we will interweave our past and our future ambitions and stories. Come along for the ride!