Visited the Gibbes and was delighted to find an exhibit called Witness to History: Civil Rights Era Photographs by James Karales. Wonderful examples of the pictures Mr. Karales took during the early 1960's as he followed the life of Martin Luther King, Jr. including the iconic Selma to Montgomery March, 1965. We learned from the informative young woman at the... More

We thoroughly enjoyed this small gem of a museum. Three of the exhibits were wonderful and worth the visit. First is the beautiful series of watercolors of plantation life (a permanent exhibit); second the temporary exhibit of art owned by Jonathan Green (a well-known Gullah painter) and his partner; and lastly, a wonderful exhibit of photos (some of them iconic)... More

I like art museums, and this is no exception. I have visited it several times over the past 25 years. The permanent exhibits are heavy on colonial portraits and slave/plantation watercolors. I find the special exhibits more interesting. Currently "The People's Choice" is on display. This is an interesting and eclectic variety of art - mostly paintings. The civil rights... More

James Shoolbred Gibbes bequeathed $100,000 (big bucks in 1900!) for the construction of an art exhibition hall. That great donation is at 135 Meeting Street (843/722-2706 GibbesMuseum.org), across from Circular Church, has grown into a premier art museum. For the modest $9 adult fee, cell or earphone audio tours are included, but I turned off mine and enjoyed a self-guided... More

The Charleston galleries downtown are pretty traditional and touristy. If you want to see the good stuff, go to the Gibbes. Look up their current shoes to see if it interests you. Even the permanent collections (lots of portraits of old white guys, naval battles, gowned ladies) have some surprise appearances by great portrait painters. You can see everything in... More

My wife is an art teacher so we visit art museums on a regular basis. The Gibbes is not the Met in NY, or the Getty in LA or the Louvre, but it does have a very nice collection in a great building well curated. I particularly enjoyed The Rice Plantation Series: Watercolors by Alice Ravenel Huger Smith, Civil Rights... More

My husband and I were in and out of here in 10 minutes! The museum seemed only 1/3 full and very intresting. Liked the Natural History museum MUCH better!

The docent / guide educated us so well, I felt like I was back in college. Tour the museum with a guide! It made our visit so much more memorable.

Not the largest of museums but they have a really fine selection modern Paintings and an excellent selection of Civil Rights Era Photography