Carolina Art Association

Front: In 1857, a group of civic-minded Charlestonians established the Carolina Art Association. The goal of the CAA was to promote fine arts in S.C. The CAA was awarded its official state charter in 1858. The CAA is today the oldest surviving arts association in the Southeast. Upon his death in 1888, patron of the arts James S. Gibbes left a bequest that allowed the city and the CAA to build a museum of fine art. Reverse: Designed by Frank Milburn, the James S. Gibbes Memorial Art Gallery, now the Gibbes Museum of Art, opened in 1905. The Beaux Arts-style building is the oldest purpose-built museum in S.C. and the oldest permanent structure designed for the display of art in the South. In 1936, the museum became the first to exhibit the Solomon R. Guggenheim Collection of modern art. It was expanded in 1978 and again in 2016.