Current Exhibitions

The Barbizon School and the Nature of Landscape

May 2 to July 21, 2008
Barney A. Ebsworth Gallery

Over the course of the nineteenth century, the genre of landscape painting shifted from one of the lowliest subjects for academic painters to one of the primary genres of avant-garde engagement. Key to this transformation were the unassuming, informal landscape paintings of the Barbizon school. Drawing on the Kemper Art Museum's rich collection of nineteenth-century landscape painting, this exhibition will present close to forty works by the Barbizon's leaders, lesser-known figures, and a selection of French and Americans influenced by the movement. more details >>

2008 MFA Thesis Exhibition

May 2 to July 21, 2008
College of Art Gallery
Barney A. Ebsworth Gallery

The exhibition will include artworks in a variety of media by thirteen master of fine arts candidates in Washington University's Graduate School of Art, part of the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts.

Featured Artists: Margaret Adams, Liza Simmons Allen, Christine D'Epiro, Yosafa Deutsch, Elizabeth Ferry, Casey Glover, Hi Uan Kang, Tori Kaspareit, Lisa Linke, Stephen Quick, Jessica M. Thornton, Ann Maree Walker, Ian Weaver

Harriet Hosmer

May 2 to July 21, 2008
Teaching Gallery

During the summer of 2008, cultural organizations across St. Louis will be hosting an international centennial celebration of the life and work of American sculptor Harriet Hosmer (1830-1908). In conjunction with these events, the Kemper Art Museum has planned an exhibition in the Teaching Gallery to showcase Hosmer's works in the collections of Washington University and the Saint Louis Art Museum.

An important American sculptor in the neoclassical tradition, Hosmer produced some of her most significant work for St. Louisans, including her first large-scale figurative work, Oenone (1854-55), which will be on display. Commissioned by Wayman Crow, one of the founders of Washington University, the sculpture depicts the mythological wife of Paris, whom he deserted in favor of Helen. This work was completed in Rome, where Hosmer studied under the English neoclassical sculptor John Gibson.

A day-long symposium exploring Hosmer's work and influence will take place on June 14, 2008 to accompany the exhibition and community programming. In addition, a spotlight series gallery talk featuring Oenone is scheduled for June 18, 2008.

Press Release >>