Chattanooga Art Galleries, Museums, Supplies & More

Best art galleries Chattanooga museums supplies classes your area

Anyone that wants to learn about art in Chattanooga has definitely found the right blog and our first section will fully cover the best art galleries and museums near you.

After that we will get into a variety of other topics like art supply stores, events, festivals, dealers, appraisers, walking tours, local sculptures and statues, art classes, studios for rent, and the top frame shops in your area.

You can jump straight to any section that interests you most by using the table of contents on the left and we are also including a Chattanooga art map with all of the spots we mention throughout the post pinned on it.

If you are interested you can check out some of our other posts about the local scene in other cities around the Southeast.

Best Art Galleries & Museums In Chattanooga

When you are ready to visit the best art galleries and museums in Chattanooga you should check out:

The Hunter Museum of American Art is open every day but Tuesday and is one of the city’s most recognizable monuments with three buildings reflecting 100 years of architecture. The site combines classical revival styles that contain both Georgian and Federal style components due to its diverse architectural characteristics.

The Houston Museum is open from noon to 4pm Tuesday through Saturday and houses Anna Houston’s collection which includes anything from water pitchers to at least 50 separate collections. Cut glass, satin glass, peach blow pitchers and cruets, Burmese glass artifacts, cameo glass, and cranberry glass were among the items she collected while Steuben, Tiffany, Durand, and other manufacturers are represented in the collection.

Established in 2000 The Cress Gallery of Art is named after artist and UTC Guerry Professor of Art Emeritus George Ayers Cress and over the years it has undergone tremendous transformation, evolution, and expansion and is now preparing to enter a new age.

If you are looking for a place where you can see exhibit rooms with a wide collection of regional and national fine art and crafts including paintings, sculptures, and studio art glass that are accessible through open archways head to River Gallery from 10am to 5pm Monday through Saturday and 1pm to 5pm on Sunday.

The Hart Gallery is a haven for artists who come from a variety of disadvantaged origins and situations including people who are homeless, have mental or physical impairments, are handicapped veterans, women fleeing abusive situations, political refugees, and more. Just don’t show up on Monday or Tuesday because they are closed on those days.

Housed at the Fine Arts Center in your area The Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA) offers challenging, curious, and adventurous experiences with contemporary art. The UTC ICA is Tennessee’s first ICA and it is always free and accessible to the general public as well as the university community. The Cress Gallery of Art who we were just discussing is one of two exhibition galleries at the ICA site. Additionally the Roland W. Hayes Concert Hall, Dorothy Hackett Ward Theater, and George Ayers Cress Gallery of Art, located on the UTC campus at the corner of Vine and Palmetto Streets house the work of the Departments of Performing Arts and Visual Arts.

On the thriving NorthShore In-Town is a cooperative gallery of great American handmade and modern art and they generally are open from 11am to 6pm but they are closed Tuesday and keep hours of 1pm to 5pm on Sunday. In-Town Gallery was founded by a group of local artists and fine craftsmen in 1974 at a time when there were few chances for them to show and sell their work.

In the center of downtown Ignis Glass Studio is an operating glassblowing studio and art gallery near you where you can blow your own glass or buy some of their fine works.

Area 61 gallery is open from noon to 6pm Thursday through Monday and hosts the work of 20+ local professional artists and craftsmen from Chattanooga and the immediate surrounding area. The selection is diverse and includes fine art paintings, jewelry, weavings, sculpture, woodwork, pottery, handcrafted furniture, ceramics, handcrafted audio speakers by SoundCrewe, and much more.

Shuptrine’s Gallery is open from 10am to 4pm Tuesday through Thursday and is known for its realistic paintings and sculptures by some of the country’s most well-known artists. Shuptrine’s proprietors Alan and Bonny Shuptrine have over 30 years of experience with private collectors, corporate art collections, and institution acquisitions and they are located in the historic South Broad Street Design District.

The main gallery at Stove Works is open from noon to 6:30pm Wednesday through Saturday and hosts exhibitions, installations, and more plus they have a residency program that can host up to 19 artists for up to 6 months with a big show at the end.

Materials & Supplies Near You

When you have the need for new materials or supplies head to art stores in your area like:

Individual and corporate clients may shop for art and graphic materials at Art Creation which also includes a custom frame showroom.

Gannon Art Center caters to each customer individually creating personalized designs that are exclusive to you and your artwork. With 50 years of experience they provide the highest level of attention and quality while listening to you and collaborate with you to create the ideal bespoke framing solution.

Townsend Atelier delivers innovative mold-making tools and professional skills to customers all over the world with a combined thirty-five years of experience in the art and materials sectors. Knead-a-mold, brush-a-mold, townsend casting resin, and pourable molds are among the items available.

We doubt that we need to tell you what the chain stores like Michaels, Joann, and Hobby Lobby are.

Shows & Events

There are some cool local art festivals, shows, and events like:

The 4 Bridges Arts Festival will bring world-class fine art to the region in a genuinely unique 50,000 square foot covered pavilion. A diverse range of mediums and styles mingle with serious art buyers from across the region and beyond to create an environment unlike any other.

The Chattanooga Festival of Black Arts & Ideas: Juneteenth Independence Day (CFBA&I) is a multi-day festival honoring the exceptional accomplishments of African-American artists in the fields of music, dance, theatre, visual arts, film, and literature on Juneteenth.

Art Dealers & Appraisers

Art dealers and appraisers are where you can encounter new unique pieces or learn the value of something you already own:

L P Cline Gallery brings together powerful collections of paintings by Russian artists who never dreamed the world would see their talents. They are a direct importer of Russian Impressionism Art and Contemporary Russian Art and since 1981 they’ve been serving your area and the company has expanded to encompass 49 states as well as a large number of foreign clients.

Gallery 1401 is a unique and handy location for any event or meeting nestled between the famous Choo-Choo Hotel and some of the city’s best-loved local eateries and cultural attractions.

Insurance coverage, damage/loss claims, inheritance tax, charity contribution, collateral loan, property division, and liquidation are just a few of the assessment assignments Wyeth Appraisals has worked on.

Ruffner Art Advisory is a full-service Chattanooga art advisory firm that provides art valuation, museum-quality cataloging, curation, registration, brokerage, conservation, and restoration services to customers across the Southeast United States.

Walking Tours

The Bluff View Art District at 411 East 2nd Street is a family-run historic neighborhood featuring restaurants, a coffee shop, an art gallery, a historic B&B, and plenty of gardens, plazas, and courtyards where you can relax and revitalize.

Sculptures & Statues

Framing art supply stores Chattanooga lessons near you studios

These statues and sculptures in your area can also be fun to check out when the weather is nice:

  • Sculpture Fields in Montague Park at 1800 Polk St
  • River Gallery Sculpture Garden at 411 E 2nd St
  • A History in Steel at 3914-3998 St Elmo Ave

Sculpture Fields is a tourist destination as well as an art museum near you with a 33-acre public park brimming with sculptures from throughout the globe making it the largest sculpture park in the Southeast as it attracts people from all over the world.

The International Sculpture Center’s Sculpture Parks and Gardens Directory has picked River Gallery Sculpture Garden as one of 195 sculpture gardens from across the world for inclusion while the Smithsonian Institution’s Archives of American Gardens has also acknowledged the garden with a listing.

Charles Pilkey’s A History in Steel sculpture has been around for well over a hundred years.

Chattanooga Art Classes

It doesn’t matter if you want private lessons or group classes for kids, teens, or adults some of the best art schools in Chattanooga are:

Scenic City Clay Arts is a non-profit organization that gives clay studio space to local residents plus classes and workshops are available for people of all ages and ability levels.

East Lake Academy of Fine Arts is a two-story structure next to the East Lake Recreational Center on the junction of 34th Street and Dodds Avenue. Unlike any other magnet school in the system the structure was altered before it was completed to accommodate the school’s fine arts curriculum.

One of only two K-12 schools in the US that was formed as a Paideia School and has remained true to its founding ideals throughout its existence Chattanooga School for the Arts & Sciences adheres to the ideals of Mortimer Adler’s The Paideia Proposal which advocates for the same curriculum for all pupils.

The School for the Liberal Arts is a Hamilton County K-8 public magnet school.

Painting with a Twist is all about getting together with friends over a glass of wine, some of your favorite foods, and a night of laughter while learning to paint. It is fair to say their lessons are a little more casual than the others on our list, but you still might just learn something.

Studios For Rent Near You

Consider renting some studio working space at:

Creative Revolver Studio is a multi-purpose creative studio and when you need a break from filming this freshly remodeled studio is located in Ridgedale one block from Main St. and just two miles from all of the restaurants, bars, and nightlife on the Southside. The shooting area features 12 foot ceilings and three wide windows that allow enough of natural light while also being able to be covered for complete light control.

Lanewood Studio underwent a complete renovation in 2020 that made it a convenient location to get to, park, and load in/out as well as rent studio space in the downtown area.

ClearStory offers working artists’ studios in your area with a central gallery to show off their work.

Ignis Glass Studio also has studio space available.

Framing

For art framing services in Chattanooga head to:

One Price Framing has extensive experience and completes all work in-house while specializing in shadow boxing, needlework, watches, knives, sports jerseys, baptism gowns, military medals, uniforms, trophies, and canvas stretching along with custom frames. You will also find some original artwork for sale in their shop.

For your paintings, pictures, mirrors, and other items Framewrights provides a variety of bespoke frame choices. The quality of frames ranges from ordinary to museum-class, and the diversity of frame selection may accommodate any budget.

Aaron Brothers is a group of craftsmen, builders, trend-spotters, and problem-solvers dedicated to making custom framing easier and more inexpensive for you. You can trust that every frame is produced with the highest care and competence since they have over 100 years of experience in the framing industry.

You can also get high quality local framing at Shuptrine’s Gallery, Gannon Art Center, and Art Creation from some of our other lists.

By the way we have also discussed the local art scene in:

Have Fun Enjoying The Chattanooga Art Scene

At the moment that is all we have to share about the full art scene near you. We listed the best galleries, museums, events, shows, supply stores, dealers, appraisers, walking tours, sculptures, classes, studios, and framers in your area that you may want to check out.

Those of you who stuck around this long might know a lot about the local art scene too. Feel free to share your own tips, or to let us know if you noticed anything incorrect.

We hope you enjoy your time at the best Chattanooga art galleries, museums, supply stores, or doing whatever else you plan to do with the info.

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This post and all of the posts on our site are edited by Dan Soloman who has been a huge fan of art since he was a little kid. His mother was a good local artist, and she taught him the trade from a very early age. He studied art and its history in both high school and college, has worked at multiple galleries, and recently has begun creating and editing online content for this site and some other online media platforms.

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