Brenau University Galleries

The Brenau University Galleries at the historic Gainesville, Georgia campus consist of four exhibition spaces and a permanent art collection. The Galleries serve as an educational and cultural resource for Northeast Georgia by way of free public programming and exhibitions.  A growing docent program allows the Galleries to accommodate free tours of select exhibits and set hours of operation provide opportunities for community visitors throughout the week.

Since the institution’s inception in 1878, the arts have played a prominent role in the history and culture of Brenau University.  However, Brenau had no designated gallery space until 1985, when Dr. John S. Burd became president. Having a strong personal interest in the arts and understanding their value to an academic institution, Dr. Burd inaugurated the Brenau Permanent Art Collection in 1986.  He encouraged donations from art collectors and placed advertisements in art journals to publicize and further encourage donations to the collection.  That same year, the first dedicated gallery space for the University was created – a small chapel outside the balcony of the historic Pearce Auditorium was converted into the Presidents Gallery.  There are now a total of four gallery spaces on Brenau’s campus: the Presidents Gallery; Sellars Gallery in the Simmons Visual Arts Center; Castelli Gallery in the John S. Burd Center for Performing Arts; and the Manhattan Gallery in the Brenau University Downtown Center.

The first collection entry was a still life painting by renowned American artist William Merritt Chase (1849-1916).  Currently numbering over 3,500 works, the collection includes drawings, paintings and sculptures by Eugène Delacroix (1798-1863), Anna Elizabeth Klumpke (1856-1942), Clyde Connell (1901-1998), and William King (1925-2015).  The collection also includes many Pop art prints by Jasper Johns (1930- ), Robert Rauschenberg (1925-2008), and Frank Stella (1936- ).  Also included in the collection are many significant works by Georgia artists, including sculptor Maria Artemis (1945- ), printmaker and sculptor Beverly Buchanan (1940-2015), painter Lamar Dodd (1909-1996), printmaker Ruth Laxson (1924-2019) and folk artist R. A. Miller (1912-2006).  Collection works figure prominently throughout all campus buildings and periodically in thematic exhibitions.