ABOUT US

he Red Piano Art Gallery has been the premier art gallery on Hilton Head Island for over five decades. It was established in July 1969 after the first Heritage Golf Classic.  The gallery now resides at 40 Calhoun St., Suite 201, Bluffton, SC…just minutes from the bridge to Hilton Head Island.

Gallery founders Alan and Mary Palmer were avid collectors and jazz enthusiasts. Alan – a former illustrator for Coca Cola – played the saxophone, and the early years of the gallery featured works by Ralph Ballentine, Joe Bowler, Joe DeMers, Ray Ellis, Jim Palmer, Walter Palmer, George Plante and Coby Whitmore with champagne receptions around the famous “red piano”, a symbol of hot jazz. Sales during the early days of the gallery were sparse and the Palmers often referred to the business as the “piano in the red.”

Later, the gallery became a weekly meeting place for the historic Round Table, a group of prominent artists who brought in guest artists that included Ben Stahl, Reuben Tam and others. The gallery has also presented works by Andrew Wyeth and subsequent owners have embraced important 19th and 20th century American paintings for serious collectors from throughout the world.

Gallery owners since 1994, J. Ben Whiteside and Lyn Whiteside acquired Morris & Whiteside Galleries in January 2015 and combined gallery operations under the Red Piano Art Gallery firm with which they have been associated since 2002.

Ben Whiteside

Our goal has always been to bring the very best quality of art to the market. The Red Piano Art Gallery has done exactly that since 1969. Our collectors rely on us for fine art expertise, attention to detail and personal service.

Lyn Whiteside

We are grateful to our artists for their support and dedication, many of whom we have worked with for almost 25 years. They are among America’s leading painters and sculptors working today. It’s a great pleasure to represent their art in a world class resort community.