Saint Louis Art Museum

Anselm Kiefer: Becoming the Sea opens this week at SLAM! This landmark exhibition is Kiefer's first American retrospective in more than 20 years and explores water’s significance across human history. From the Rhine to the Mississippi, Anselm Kiefer’s works flow with history, myth, and memory. Check out these special exhibition events during opening weekend. Public preview—Anselm Kiefer: Becoming the Sea Friday, October 17 | 4–8 pm Opening Program—Anselm Kiefer: Becoming the Sea Friday, October 17 | 6–8 pm Family Sunday—Rivers and Rhythms Sunday, October 19 | 1–4 pm For more information and list of other exhibition events, head to the link below. https://lnkd.in/gFyPVcjt

Don't miss the final week of In Search of America: Photography and the Road Trip! In Search of America: Photography and the Road Trip showcases works from 20th-century artists who were shaped by car travel and what they discovered through the country's shifting landscape. Themes include Depression-era documentary work, roadside culture, utopian impulses of escape, and fascination with the desert Southwest. In Search of America is on view through Sunday, October 19. For more information, head to the link below. https://lnkd.in/gMDYycrU

Tonight 🎥 no tickets necessary! Our friends at the Saint Louis Art Museum transform Art Hill into the city's biggest cinema. Festivities start at 5 and the movie (E.T. the extra-terrestrial) begins at 7 p.m. https://lnkd.in/gHnh2Dkz

Today is Mark Rothko’s birthday, one of the most influential painters of the 20th century. In this work, a large field of tangerine orange floats between a line of brick red and an area of acidic orange. Rothko stained the canvas with thin layers of pigment, creating a luminous effect that recalls dawn or sunset. Through the simplicity of rectilinear forms, Rothko sought to express the full range of human emotions, from ecstasy to tragedy. Inspired by ancient Greek drama and the writings of philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, he believed his art should be “tragic and timeless.” Rothko’s Red, Orange, Orange on Red is on view in Gallery 247. . . . Mark Rothko, American (born Russia, present-day Latvia), 1903–1970; Red, Orange, Orange on Red, 1962; oil on canvas; 91 3/4 x 80 1/2 inches; Saint Louis Art Museum, Funds given by the Shoenberg Foundation, Inc. 129:1966; © 1998 Kate Rothko Prizel & Christopher Rothko / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

Knit, woven, embroidered, or otherwise, hats have been around for millennia. 👒🎩 More than a dozen hats are featured in SLAM’s collection, and while originally made to be worn, now that they are in the Museum’s holdings, their purpose changed from one of function to something worth honoring and preserving. Read our latest 1 Fine Arts Blog post for some head-covering highlights at the link below. https://lnkd.in/g5nEQf_Z

Anselm Kiefer: Becoming the Sea opens next month! Don’t miss this landmark exhibition that connects global histories with St. Louis’s own legacy. Kiefer’s site-specific paintings of the Mississippi and Rhine Rivers draw parallels between the two waterways while exploring themes of time, geography, and the eternal flow of human history. Kiefer has a deep connection to SLAM and St. Louis that includes a 1991 trip along the Mississippi that inspired part of his new body of work that will be featured in Sculpture Hall. Anselm Kiefer: Becoming the Sea will be free on view October 18 through January 25, 2026. Join us for a public preview of the exhibition from 4 to 8 pm on Friday, October 17! For more information, head to the link below: https://lnkd.in/gCre8K6y . . . Anselm Kiefer, German, born 1945; Missouri, Mississippi, 2024; Emulsion, oil, acrylic, shellac, gold leaf, sediment of electrolysis, and collage of canvas on canvas; 30 feet 10 1/16 inches x 27 feet 6 11/16 inches x 3 15/16 inches; Saint Louis Art Museum, Collection of the artist and courtesy Gagosian 2025.310; © Anselm Kiefer, Photo: Nina Slavcheva

Join us this Thursday, September 18 for our virtual summit, Advancing Change—Globalizing Museums for the Future!   The summit will open with remarks from Min Jung Kim, the Museum’s Barbara B. Taylor Director, and Renée Brummell Franklin, SLAM'S chief diversity officer.    This year’s keynote will be delivered by Denise Murrell, the Merryl H. and James S. Tisch Curator at Large at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Murrell is widely recognized for groundbreaking exhibitions, including The Harlem Renaissance and Transatlantic Modernism and Posing Modernity: The Black Model from Manet and Matisse to Today.   A panel discussion will feature Maggie Brown-Peoples, the Museum’s 2024–2026 Romare Bearden Graduate Museum Fellow; Danielle Burns Wilson, executive director and art director of Project Row Houses and former Bearden Fellow (2008–2009); Alexis Assam, the Regenia A. Perry Assistant Curator of Global Contemporary Art at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts and former Bearden Fellow (2018–2019); and Charlie Farrell, assistant curator at Counterpublic and also the 2022–2024 Bearden Fellow.   Together, these voices will share insights and experiences shaping the future of museums and cultural institutions. Learn more about these speakers and register for the free virtual event at the link below. https://lnkd.in/gyWjtSvz

Don't miss Advancing Change—Globalizing Museums for the Future next Thursday, featuring keynote speaker Denise Murrell from The Metropolitan Museum! Join arts professionals from across the country to explore best practices for nurturing diverse talent in museums and cultural institutions. Advancing Change—Globalizing Museums for the Future is a free virtual summit that offers valuable insight and is aimed at advancing the careers of early-career museum professionals. Plus, get inspired by keynote speaker Denise Murrell and hear from trailblazing alumni charting new paths in the arts. Advancing Change—Globalizing Museums for the Future 📆 Thursday, September 18 | 10 am–1 pm Register now at the link below. https://lnkd.in/gyWjtSvz

The Donald Danforth Jr. Lecture on Native American Art will be given by Annika Johnson, the Stacy and Bruce Simon Curator of Native American Art at The Joslyn Art Museum. Rooted in deep connections between design, community, and place, 19th-century beadwork from the prairie region is marked by the fluid movement of visual forms across communities. Get tickets and learn more at the link below. https://lnkd.in/gZCy2bDq

A 227-year-old mourning picture has made its collection gallery debut after a joint treatment effort by three members of the Museum’s conservation team. Acquired as a gift in 1983, SLAM’s Mourning Picture was part of a 1984 exhibition of American folk art, but it has remained in storage ever since. To get it gallery-ready after more than 40 years required treatment from SLAM’s paper, paintings, and framing labs. Learn more on our 1 Fine Arts Blog, linked below. https://lnkd.in/gjWw5Jty