MISSION & HISTORY

Mission

The Saint Louis Art Museum collects, presents, interprets, and conserves works of art of the highest quality across time and cultures; educates, inspires discovery, and elevates the human spirit; and preserves a legacy of artistic achievement for the people of St. Louis and the world.

History

The Saint Louis Art Museum was founded in 1879, at the close of a decade that saw the establishment of art museums in great cities across the eastern half of the United States. This Museum's comprehensive collections bear witness to the inspirational and educational goals to which its founder aspired and the moral and democratic imperatives he embraced. What began as a collection of assorted plaster casts, electrotype reproductions, and other examples of "good design" in various media rapidly gave way to a great and varied collection of original works of art spanning five millennia and six continents. Today the quality and breadth of the Museum's collection secure for it a place among the very best institutions of its kind.

—Saint Louis Art Museum Handbook of the Collection

ADMISSION

Admission to the Museum is free every day.
Admission to featured exhibitions is free on Friday.

CONTACT INFORMATION

Main: 314.721.0072
Shop: 314.655.5249
Membership: 314.655.5335
Beaux Arts Council: 314.655.5124
Corporate Partners: 314.655.5355
Education: 314.655.5265
Group Tours: 314.655.5136
Library: 314.655.5252
Marketing: 314.655.5204
Planned Giving: 314.655.5126
Print Study Room: 314.655.5402

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