- [Rick] The Blowing Rock Art and History Museum sits in a garden-like setting on the edge of downtown Blowing Rock.

It's just a few steps away from the many small shops and eateries in downtown.

The statue in front is of Elliott Daingerfield, a prolific artist from a century ago.

He lived here on this same property in Edgewood Cottage.

It's Daingerfield's art that inspired the construction of BRAHM.

That all started with the Daingerfield celebration that brought folks to town for a weekend.

- At that weekend celebration, this man from Charlotte mentioned, "Oh, it's too bad Blowing Rock doesn't have an art museum, because if they did, I'd give them my Daingerfield art collection."

And he was overheard, and so that was just- - [Rick] Gotcha.

- [Sue] That was too good an opportunity.

- [Rick] So naturally, when BRAHM opened in 2011, Daingerfield's Art was and still is prominently displayed.

But his work is just a fraction of the treasure to be found in this 27,000 square foot space.

- What we've tried to do is present really, really top quality programming and shows and exhibits that tell our local stories.

And we always have a local angle on the story that we're telling - Because we are the only arts and/or history institution in the High Country, which is our kind of three-county pocket in northwest North Carolina, so when we switched to free admission in 2018, our role in this community changed where we became a community center.

- [Rick] The museum is relatively young, having opened in 2011.

Locals and visitors alike are still discovering what's inside, often drawn in by the park-like grounds and the building's architecture.

- It's got an angled roof that might be termed to be more residential in character, but that's also very much the character of downtown Blowing Rock.

We wanted to have a building that looked like it grew here.

- [Rick] Once inside, visitors discover a space full of the history and art for this region that had been underrepresented.

- [Willard] Blowing Rock has been a resort destination for over 150 years, and there have been artists that have been coming here, becoming inspired by the landscape, by the people and the culture here since that time.

- [Rick] More than 20,000 local and traveling visitors come through the building in an average year.

There are eight galleries to meander with attractions designed for a varied audience.

- Every one of our galleries has a young at art question in it that relates to the art or the history in that exhibit.

We always have an exhibit about history.

We always have a gallery that's full of beautiful landscape paintings, and then the rest of the galleries we like to mix and match.

We change our galleries over three times a year.

Our exhibitions are a variety of disciplines that go from American Impressionist artwork, landscape paintings, contemporary American craft, or something that's rooted in the history of our region.

- More than a century ago, Elliott Daingerfield worked and lived here in Edgewood Cottage adjacent to BRAHM.

These days, Edgewood Cottage is operated by the Blowing Rock Historical Society as a showcase for artists in residence during warm months and as additional museum space year round.

- The Blowing Rock art and History Museum is at 159 Ginny Stevens Lane in Blowing Rock, and they're open Tuesday through Saturday from 11:00 AM to 5:00 PM.

For more information, give them a call at [828] 295-9099 or visit them online at blowingrockmuseum.org.