HISTORIC 3-YEAR LOUVRE/ATLANTA PARTNERSHIP BRINGS OVER 1.3 MILLION VISITORS

THE CLOSING OF THE EXHIBITION "THE LOUVRE AND THE MASTERPIECES" LAST WEEKEND MARKED A CULMINATION OF "LOUVRE ATLANTA", THE HIGH MUSEUM'S UNPRECEDENTED THREE-YEAR PARTNERSHIP WITH THE MUSEE DU LOUVRE IN PARIS. DURING THE COURSE OF THE PARTNERSHIP, THE HIGH WELCOMED OVER 1.3 MILLION VISITORS TO THE MUSEUM FOR SEVEN EXHIBITIONS THAT BROUGHT A COMBINED 493 HISTORIC TREASURES FROM THE LOUVRE'S VAST COLLECTION TO ATLANTA. MASTERWORKS FROM ALL EIGHT OF THE LOUVRE'S CURATORIAL DEPARTMENTS HAVE TRAVELED TO THE HIGH, INCLUDING RARE WORKS BU ARTISTS INCLUDING RAPHAEL, TITIAN, VERMEER, REMBRANDT AND VALEZQUEZ. THE EXHIBITIONS ATTRACTED VISITORS FROM ALL 50 US SATES, AND NEARLY 140,000 STUDENTS VISITED THE EXHIBITIONS. SINCE "LOUVRE ATLANTA" OPENED, THE HIGH'S MEMBERSHIP HAS GROWN TO MORE THAN 50,000 HOUSEHOLDS, PLACING THE MUSEUM'S MEMBERSHIP IN THE TOP 10 AMONG AMERICAN ART MUSEUMS.
THE HIGH LAUNCHED ITS HISTORIC PARTNERSHIP WITH THE MUSEE DU LOUVRE IN OCTOBER 2006 TO CRITICAL ACCLAIM. THE MULTI-EXHIBITION PARTNERSHIP CONTINUED THE HIGH'S LONG STANDING STRATEGY OF COLLABORATING WITH INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTIONS TO BRING GREAT ART TO ATLANTA. OVER THE COURSE OF "LOUVRE ATLANTA", CURATORS IN PARIS AND ATLANTA COLLABORATED TO PRESENT HUNDREDS OF WORKS OF ART THROUGH A SERIES OF LONG-TERM THEMATIC EXHIBITIONS EXPLORING THE RANGE, DEPTH, AND HISTORIC DEVELOPMENT OF THE LOUVRE'S COLLECTIONS. "LOUVRE ATLANTA" OPENED IN 2006, WITH THE EXHIBITIONS "KINGS AS COLLECTORS", "THE KING'S DRAWINGS", AND "FACES OF HISTORY AND MYTH: BUSTS FROM THE MUSEE DU LOUVRE". IN ITS SECOND YEAR, BEGINNING OCTOBER 2007, THE EXHIBITIONS INCLUDED "LOUVRE AND THE ANCIENT WORLD", "THE EYE OF JOSEPHINE", AND "HOUDON AT THE LOUVRE: MASTERPIECES FROM THE ENLIGHTENMENT". THE FINAL YEAR EXHIBITION, "LOUVRE AND THE MASTERPIECES", WHICH OPENED IN OCTOBER 2008, EXPLORED HOW THE DEFINITION OF A 'MASTERPIECE', AS WELL AS TASTE AND CONNOISSEURSHIP, HAS EVOLVED OVER TIME. A PORTION OF THE EXHIBITION FROM THE FIRST AND SECOND YEARS TRAVELED TO DENVER ART MUSEUM, AND "THE LOUVRE AND THE MASTERPIECE" WILL NOW TRAVEL TO THE MINNEAPOLIS INSTITUTE OF ART.