Art Galleries

As with all the Lowcountry [1], visual artists are inexorably drawn to this area. Despite the wealth apparent in some quarters here, there’s no free-standing art museum in the area, that role being filled by dozens of independent galleries.

My favorite gallery in the Hilton Head [2] area would perhaps be more at home in Bluffton [3]. The folk-art oriented America. Oh Yes! (1540 Fording Island Rd., 15 Bridge Center, 843/757-0088, Mon.–Sat. 11 a.m.–4 p.m.) has as its motto “art for people who don’t care what their neighbors think.” Fittingly for a gallery devoted to outsider art, America. Oh Yes! is actually just outside Hilton Head before you cross the bridge to the island.

For a more formal approach, go to Morris & Whiteside Galleries & Sculpture Garden (807 William Hilton Pkwy., 843/842-4433, www.morris-whiteside.com [4], daily 10 a.m.–5 p.m.), which features a variety of paintings and sculpture, heavy on landscapes but also showing some fine figurative work.

Not to be confused with the Red Piano Too [5] on St. Helena Island, the Red Piano Art Gallery (220 Cordillo Pkwy., 843/785-2318, www.redpianoartgallery.com [6], daily 10 a.m.–5 p.m.) isn’t devoted to Gullah art, but rather concentrates on natural landscapes with an often-whimsical touch.

The nonprofit Art League of Hilton Head (Pineland Station, Suite 207, Mon.–Sat. 10 a.m.–6 p.m.) displays work by member artists in all media.