Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum facts for kids
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| Location | St. Louis, Missouri |
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| Type | Art museum |
| Public transit access |  MetroBus Blue at Skinker station |
The Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum is an art museum found on the campus of Washington University in St. Louis. It is part of the university's Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts. This museum started in 1881 as the St. Louis School and Museum of Fine Arts. It was first located in downtown St. Louis.
Did you know it's the oldest art museum west of the Mississippi River? The museum has many amazing artworks. You can see European and American paintings, sculptures, and photos from the 1800s, 1900s, and 2000s. There are also some old Egyptian and Greek items, plus Old Master prints.
The museum moved to its current building in 2006. This building was designed by Pritzker Prize-winner Fumihiko Maki. In 2018, the museum closed for a big renovation. It reopened a year later with a new shiny steel front. It also gained a sculpture garden and much more space to show art.
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How the Museum Started
The museum began in 1881 at Washington University in St. Louis. It was first called the St. Louis School and Museum of Fine Arts. Halsey C. Ives was the museum's first director. He focused on collecting art by American artists of his time. A famous artist he collected was William Merritt Chase.
In 1905, a banker named Charles Parsons gave his art collection to the museum. This collection included art by Frederic Edwin Church. This gift helped the museum become a major place for American art.
The museum moved to the Palace of Fine Arts in Forest Park in 1906. It stayed there until 1909. In 1909, the City Museum of Art was created. It started collecting its own art. Many artworks from the university's collection were loaned to the public museum until 1960.
By the end of 1931, the university's art collection was very large and valuable. It included works by Chase, Frederic Remington, and many others. These artworks were either loaned out, displayed on campus, or stored away.
New Art and a New Home
In 1941, an art history professor named H.W. Janson joined the university. He helped renew the art collection. He wanted to focus on modern European art. This included art styles like Cubism, Expressionism, and Surrealism.
Janson helped the museum get a permanent home. In 1960, the museum moved to Steinberg Hall on the main university campus. At this time, it was renamed the Washington University Gallery of Art.
The Museum Today
Today, the museum still collects modern art. It has pieces by artists like Jackson Pollock, Robert Rauschenberg, and Jenny Holzer. In 2004, the museum was renamed again. It became the Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum. It is now part of the new Sam Fox School of Visual Art and Design.
In 2006, the museum moved into a brand new building. This building was designed by Fumihiko Maki. It is also home to the university's art and architecture library.
In May 2018, the museum closed for a big construction project. The museum added a new front made of shiny stainless steel panels. It also got a new entrance and a new exhibition space. The museum's sculpture garden was also moved to a new spot.
In September 2019, the newly expanded museum reopened. It had a special exhibition by artist Ai Weiwei called "Bare Life."
The Kemper Art Museum is now a key part of the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts. This school brings together art, architecture, and the museum. It focuses on creating and showing different types of art. It also encourages new ideas and learning.
Exhibits and Art Collection
The Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum has four main areas to show art. These include the Barney A. Ebsworth Gallery and the Bernoudy Permanent Collection Gallery. Some past exhibitions have explored topics like drone warfare and contemporary drawing.
The museum's permanent collection is shown on its top floor. You can also see sculptures in the Florence Steinberg Weil Sculpture Garden. This collection has many artworks from the 1800s, 1900s, and 2000s.
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Aelbert Cuyp, Cows with a Milkmaid in a Farmyard, 1650
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Thomas Cole, Aqueduct near Rome, 1832
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George Caleb Bingham, Daniel Boone Escorting Settlers Through the Cumberland Gap, 1851–52
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Frederic Edwin Church, Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, 1883
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Joaquin Sorolla y Bastida, Another Marguerite!, 1892
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Edvard Munch, Portrait of Irmgard Steinbart, 1913
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George Bellows, Portrait of Garaldine Lee, No. 1, 1914
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Theo van Doesburg, Composition VII (The Three Graces), 1917
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Max Beckmann, Les Artistes mit Gemüse (Artists with Vegetable), 1943
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Arshile Gorky, Golden Brown Painting, 1943–44
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See also
In Spanish: Museo de Arte Mildred Lane Kemper para niños
