A view of downtown Charleston, South Carolina. Photo by Leo Heisenberg. 

Affectionately known to locals as Chucktown, this Southern coastal city is not only dripping with charm, it’s also one of the most prominent havens for contemporary fine art, with dozens of galleries gracing the downtown area, with Queen, King and Broad Street being the most prolific. Most of these art galleries are also part of the Charleston Gallery Association, a collective of more than 40 fine art galleries in the city. (Oh, and a little tip from us: bring your appetite, because Charleston’s culinary scene is just as impressive as its art scene.)

The iconic Pineapple Fountain on the downtown waterfront. Photo by Emmy Gaddy.

Every first Friday of the month, Charleston Gallery Association hosts the First Friday ArtWalks, during which galleries open their doors for three hours starting at 5 p.m., giving both discerning collectors and casual art lovers the opportunity to explore Chucktown’s vibrant art culture. 

A glimpse of the Lowcountry marshlands at sunset. Photo by Samantha Fortney.

And speaking of, the Charleston metro area is chock full of galleries and arts institutions to explore, including Wells Gallery on Kiawah Island, Anglin Smith Fine Art Gallery and the Charleston Artist Collective in Mount Pleasant, Sandpiper Gallery on Sullivan’s Island, the Gallery at Sweetgrass in Isle of Palms and many more.

Shem Creek, Mount Pleasant. Photo by Emmy Gaddy. 

In the following pages, we’ve highlighted a few of the many excellent galleries and art events in the Lowcountry, so you can get started crafting the perfect coastal collecting trip. 

Top:  Principle Gallery Charleston, When the Past You Meets the New You, oil on canvas, 31½ x 39½ in., by Anna Wypych. Bottom:  Principle Gallery Charleston, Abondance, oil on aluminum panel, 36 x 72 in., by Nathalie Lapointe Principle Gallery Charleston, Time to Remember, acrylic on canvas, 18 x 24 in., by Dale Terbush.

Principle Gallery Charleston is located in the heart of historic Charleston, South Carolina, just steps away from the Gibbes Museum of Art and the historic Mills House Hotel. Together with its sister gallery in Alexandria, Virginia, Principle Gallery represents a diverse group of nationally and internationally acclaimed artists, showcasing contemporary and classical representational works, with sculpture featured prominently alongside paintings. The gallery’s spacious salon-style setup invites art lovers to engage with the artwork in a more personal and intimate way. The gallery’s knowledgeable and welcoming team is passionate about making fine art accessible and enjoyable to everyone.

Top: Robert Lange Studios, Disco Frolicking in the Celery Forest, oil on linen, 40 x 48 in., by Denise Stewart-Sanabria. Robert Lange Studios, Epic Paint Job, oil on panel, 60 x 40 in., by Robert Lange. Bottom: Robert Lange Studios, The Soundtrack, oil on aluminum, 24 x 36 in., by Erik Johnson.

Named by TripAdvisor among the top 10 percent of attractions worldwide, Robert Lange Studios’ 6,000-square-foot gallery, originally built in 1840, still boasts its original brick walls and timeworn wood floors. More than “just” a gallery, it’s a creative sanctuary where artists from around the world come to connect, collaborate and be inspired. Willard Hirsch, a famed local sculptor, made the old Robert Henry’s Warehouse building his sculpting studio sometime in the early 1920s, and it has been a creative space ever since.

Dare Gallery, Clearing Up, oil, 20 x 24 in., by Andre Lucero. Dare Gallery, Embers and Tides, oil, 24 x 30 in., by Andre Lucero.

This October, Dare Gallery will host Inspired Impressions, featuring select works in oil by renowned plein air artist Andre Lucero, including multiple seascapes. Lucero recounts a time when he was midway into a seascape when a rogue wave came out of nowhere and knocked him over: “Once I got my bearings, retrieved my gear and emptied the ocean water from my painting box, I continued working,” he says. Lucero was trained in a traditional academic setting and he reveres the Old Masters and their painting techniques. In his work, he uses a historic Maroger medium with his oils that gives his paintings a distinctive buttery, luminescent quality.

From top: Southeastern Wildlife Exposition, The Quiet Crossing, oil on canvas, 20 x 30 in., by Daren Wilding. Southeastern Wildlife Exposition, Three Setters, oil on linen, 24 x 36 in., by Peggy Watkins. Southeastern Wildlife Exposition, We Meet Again, oil on canvas, 24 x 36 in., by Rebecca Proctor.

For more than four decades, the Southeastern Wildlife Exposition (SEWE) has been one of the nation’s premier celebrations of wildlife art, sporting culture and conservation. From February 12 to 14, 2027, more than 100 of the world’s most accomplished wildlife and sporting artists will gather in historic Charleston, South Carolina, to exhibit and sell original paintings and sculptures. Throughout all three days of SEWE, artists are on-site in the SEWE Fine Art Gallery at the Charleston Place Hotel, giving collectors the unique opportunity to meet the artists behind the work, watch live demonstrations, discuss their creative process and purchase original pieces directly from them.