An installation by Radcliffe Bailey at the Hunter Museum

Supplying over 100 years of architecture in just the buildings alone, the Hunter Museum of American Art is a must see.  Sitting on an 80-floor bluff overlooking the Tennessee River, the museum is housed in an 1905 mansion, a 1975 wing filled with stark lines and a contemporary 2005 structure composed of steel and glass.  The museum focuses on American art from the colonial period to today and hosts many of Chattanooga’s cultural events.

The museum’s  collections feature a vast array of  works on paper, paintings, sculpture, furniture and contemporary studio glass as well as books and multi-media installations, such as Radcliffe Bailey’s stunning “In The Returnal,”  installation. The piece includes photographs, plant material, wax, acrylic and oil stick on wood among other media.  The current exhibit, “Jellies: Living Art”, which is part of a partnership with the Tennessee Aquarium, is another showstopper,  which showcases jellyfish alongside spectacular glass sculptures that mimic their form and colors.  Well known artists highlighted at the Hunter Museum include Mary Cassatt, Winslow Homer, Louise Nevelson and Andy Warhol.  After spending a few hours at the Hunter, head over to the Chattanooga Choo Choo Hotel’s The Station House Restaurant, for another cultural delight.  You may have seen singing waiters before but never like this. I was amazed at the vocal power of my waiters as they served up chicken and fresh shrimp while never missing a note or highly choreographed moves.

Photo courtesy of Rosalind Cummings-Yeates