By Emmett Gienapp via Nooga.com

The Hunter Museum of American Art is a major attraction in the heart of Chattanooga, with a collection of more than 3,000 pieces of art. (Photo: Chattanooga Convention and Visitors Bureau)

Apparently, this is the summer of monsoons for Chattanooga. The forecast doesn’t look good for the rest of the week, which is a shame for anyone who wants to enjoy the season outside. Thankfully, Chattanooga has a ton of great indoor attractions.

While it was pouring outside the other day, I got the chance to visit the Hunter Museum of American Art.

Originally constructed in 1904 as a private residence, the mansion-turned-art museum was opened in 1952 on the eastern side of the Bluff View Art District. Two wings were added to the mansion in 1975 and 2005 to make room for the growing collection.

The first wing—the eastern building—was designed to be a brutalist, gray concrete structure. The west wing mimics the river underneath, as well as the surrounding mountains, with its sweeping lines and flowing architecture.

Now, the museum is a major attraction in the heart of Chattanooga, with a collection of more than 3,000 pieces of art. The buildings themselves and artwork inside are centered on the growth and transformation of American art up to the present day.

The museum is divided into 19 smaller galleries that are ordered chronologically by the time of their creation. Visitors enter the west wing, but if you’re a stickler for order, you should make your way over to the mansion to start with early American art from 1730 to 1880.

The mansion portion of the museum comprises 10 galleries on two floors that showcase landscapes, scenes of everyday life and furniture from the era. Here, visitors can learn about the history of the area; the building; and, of course, the origins of American art.

All visitors enter the main lobby in the west wing of the building. Temporary exhibits are upstairs, and the permanent collection is to the right. (Photo: Chattanooga Convention and Visitors Bureau)

From there, the tour continues back in the western wing. Though the mansion is slightly set apart from the rest of the attraction, this second portion is a very open-ended tour through what feels like a single, large gallery.

The spacious rooms here are divided into exhibits that span about 20 years each. Visitors start this part of the tour with early impressionism and continue to abstraction and, finally, contemporary art.

In addition to paintings, there are numerous sculptures, pieces of furniture and other decorations hailing from the time periods covered.

The mansion and this collection of galleries make up approximately 20 percent of the permanent collection, but one of the biggest draws to the museum this summer is a temporary exhibit by artist Whitfield Lovell.

Lovell was commissioned by the Hunter three years ago to create an exhibit specifically for our local art museum. The result is Deep River, a massive, thought-provoking examination of the history of race issues in and around Chattanooga.

The exhibit deals specifically with the lives of blacks before and after the Civil War and gives a brief glimpse into the history of a Union camp: Camp Contraband.

Lovell chose to create most of his portraits and headshots with conté on wood. (Photo: Hunter Museum of American Art and Architecture)

While the Union army was camped on the North Shore, they granted asylum to any and all blacks that made it across the river to their camp. This history and the individuals involved in it form the backbone of Lovell’s work.

The circles are intended to symbolize a movement toward freedom and are organized in a series of rings around the outside of a large room. At the center of the room is an enormous pile of dirt filled with what you might have found in a Civil War camp. The artist chose to draw a collection of headshots and portraits of his subjects on wooden circles called tondos.

The message is encapsulated by the lyrics to “Deep River,” a spiritual for which the exhibit is named: “Oh children, don’t you want to go to that gospel feast, that promised land, that land where all is peace.”

I’m almost hesitant to limit this exhibit by saying it deals with “race issues” because the message of Lovell’s work reaches beyond the end of slavery and Reconstruction. Lovell is focused on the enduring message of freedom for all people.

The exhibit is something truly remarkable that you have to see for yourself in order to experience it fully. Luckily, it’s here through the end of August until it leaves for another museum.

I am not an art critic, but that didn’t stop me from loving my visit. It seems like they are always doing something fresh—as long as you aren’t going every week, it’s like going to a new museum. All kinds of events are held at the site every few days, and a full list of upcoming special exhibitions can be found online.

Be sure to check it out this summer, if only to see Lovell’s temporary exhibit. It’s a great way to beat this hurricane that decided to plant itself over our city.