Art Speaks

Insightful and engaging conversations with curators, artists, educators, and other experts about art from a variety of viewpoints. All programs were delivered live via Zoom and the recordings are available below.

Ed Clark was an abstract painter who established his legacy creating collages that extend beyond the canvas, pioneering the broom-sweep technique, and developing elliptical paintings and drawings. Justice Henderson, 2023-2025 Romare Bearden Graduate Museum Fellow, explores Clark’s works on paper that were gifted in the Thelma and Bert Ollie Memorial Collection.

Exhibition curators Hannah Klemm and Andréa Purnell discuss the polyphonic approach to creating The Culture: Hip Hop and Contemporary Art in the 21st Century and the aesthetic attributes of how hip hop grew from local grassroots community engagement.

Join curators Hannah Klemm and Andréa Purnell as they explore the six thematic areas in the exhibition The Culture: Hip Hop and Contemporary Art in the 21st Century. Learn about the complex relationships between the hip hop and art industries that have made hip hop a global phenomenon and established it as the artistic canon of our time.

Romare Bearden Graduate Museum Fellow Charlie Farrell discusses artists Augusta Savage and Margaret Burroughs and their roles as educators. Both working during their respective Renaissances (Harlem and Chicago), Savage and Burroughs felt it important to foster the creative development of young people in their community. Farrell discusses their individual practices in addition to their reverberating impact on their communities.

As a final installment of her sensory-themed trilogy of virtual talks, inaugural two-year Romare Bearden Graduate Museum Fellow Shaka Myrick will honor the legacy of artist Norman Lewis’s activism and the acoustic aesthetic of his work in the Saint Louis Art Museum’s collection.

Edmonia Lewis (American, 1844–1907), a sculptor active during the 19th century, worked when it was difficult for Black and Indigenous women to break into art stardom. Refusing to be constrained by the limitations of the time, she went on to be an esteemed sculptor, first in the United States, then in Rome. Learn more about Lewis’s life and legacy in this talk by Charlie Farrell, the 2022–2024 Romare Bearden Graduate Museum Fellow.

Listen to Megan Brandow-Faller, professor of history, City University of New York Kingsborough at The City University of New York; St. Louis–area collector Marvin Moehle; and Genny Cortinovis, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Assistant Curator of Decorative Arts and Design at the Saint Louis Art Museum, in conversation about collecting Central European folk textiles, from imperial Vienna to greater St. Louis. Drawing upon works in Fabricating Empire: Folk Textiles and the Making of Early 20th-Century Austrian Design, the group explores how and why modern designers in Austria-Hungary became interested in the region’s folk dress and textiles and what draws contemporary collectors today.

With Molly Moog, research assistant for modern and contemporary art

This talk considers the critical approach of American artist Philip Guston, highlighting his understanding of painting as “impure,” or bound both to the world at large and the artist’s subjectivity. Speaker Molly Moog addresses Guston’s painting Dark Room, 1978, a promised gift from Emily Rauh Pulitzer to the Saint Louis Art Museum, alongside works from the Museum’s collection.

With Lee Talbot, curator, The George Washington University Museum and The Textile Museum

The fabrics that furnished upper-class Chinese homes during the Ming (1369–1644) and Qing (1644–1912) dynasties reveal the aesthetic and technical virtuosity of Chinese textile artists as well as the sumptuous lifestyles enjoyed by the elite at the time. Drawing from the exhibition “Chinese Textiles of the Ming and Qing Dynasties” and a range of Ming and Qing primary sources—including paintings, nonfiction writings, and illustrated novels—this talk considers the textiles within their original cultural, historical, and physical contexts.

Katie DiDomenico, Elizabeth Mangone, and Hoyon Mephokee—art history graduate students from Washington University in St. Louis—discuss their current research on artworks in the Museum’s collection: The Sentinel at the Sultan’s Tomb by Jean-Léon Gérôme, Genius of America by Adolphe Yvon, and The Colossal Pair, Thebes, by Frank Dillon.

Simon Kelly, curator and head of the Department of Modern and Contemporary Art, explores the central role of the Spanish artist Joan Miró in the Surrealist movement. He concentrates on works by Miró from the promised gift of artworks from Emily Rauh Pulitzer to the Saint Louis Art Museum.

Join Shaka Myrick, the inaugural two-year Romare Bearden Graduate Fellow, in celebrating Juneteenth by exploring the history of visibility of Black Americans. She discusses artworks by Glenn Ligon and Sam Gilliam, whose work is currently on view at the Museum, and explores conceptual techniques of using contemporary art as activism.

With Abigail Yoder, research assistant, prints, drawings, and photographs

During the late 19th century the Impressionists in France dominated the avant-garde art scene with their colorful and light-filled depictions of modern life. Developing concurrently, however, was the Symbolist art movement, in which artists responded to the rapidly changing world around them by looking inward. Their works often depicted fantastical and dark subject matter in a wide range of styles. This talk focuses on several key figures in this international movement, including the French artist Odilon Redon, the Belgian James Ensor, and the Norwegian Edvard Munch, examining their unique styles and the impact they had on later generations of artists.

With John Encarnación, Professor of Geology, Saint Louis University

Missouri is recognized in the Midwest for having exposures of stones not found elsewhere in the region. Some of these types of stones are featured in the exhibition Paintings on Stone: Science and the Sacred 1530–1800. This talk will introduce you to Missouri’s famous geology and its fascinating stones as they relate to the exhibition.

Military subjects have a long history of representation in Japanese art. Prior to and during the Edo period (1615–1868), the imagery of war was essentially confined to domestic battles between feudal lords. However, after Japan began modernizing during the Meiji period (1868–1912) and the ensuing decades, it became involved in international wars of increasing scope. Philip Hu, curator of Asian art, discusses a selection of objects dating between 1894 and 1947 that reflect the militarized outlook of the Empire of Japan for a half-century.

Shaka Myrick, the inaugural two-year Romare Bearden Graduate Fellow, addresses Black stories and the importance of abstraction in contemporary art. She discusses artworks by Oliver Lee Jackson, whose work was on view at the Museum, and explores his techniques and narratives about historic Black experiences.

Elizabeth Catlett was an artist, advocate, and teacher whose career spanned over 60 years. Her work made visible Black and Indigenous women that are often underrepresented in art. Learn more about Elizabeth Catlett and the influence of Mexican art and artists, and the African American experiences on her work. This talk by Delyn Stephenson, the 2021–2022 Romare Bearden Graduate Fellow, features two of Catlett’s artworks from the Saint Louis Art Museum’s collection, Sharecropper and Seated Woman.

With Cait Lore, Cinema St. Louis film educator and festival programmer, and film instructor at Webster University

This talk examines the related development of urban modernity and the German “New Woman” through the intersections of fine arts, early film, and the changing social landscape of Weimar Germany. In exploring the works of artists such as Max Beckmann (Valentine Tessier, 1929–1930) and filmmakers like Joseph von Sternberg (The Blue Angel, 1930), Lore discusses Modernism as it relates to the Weimar Republic, its crisis of national identities, and the so-called feminization of its culture.

Amy Torbert, Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Assistant Curator of American Art, explores works of art included in the fifth section of Art Along the Rivers: A Bicentennial Celebration. This talk demonstrates how objects produced in the region have drawn attention to particular political, social, and environmental viewpoints. Some of these objects have communicated support for political policies and promoted recognition of marginalized communities, while others have countered social injustices and investigated relationships between humans and nature. All speak boldly in the hopes of effecting change.

To the Western eye, geometric patterns of repeating triangles or lozenges have little meaning. In this program Cory Willmott, professor of cultural anthropology at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, takes us on a journey through the spiritual cosmos in Anishinaabe art and reveals its significant symbolism in the geometric motifs woven into textiles in the exhibition Woodlands: Native American Art from St. Louis Collections.

Melissa Wolfe, curator of American art, explores works of art included in the fourth section of Art Along the Rivers: A Bicentennial Celebration. This talk brings together objects created by regional artists in the 20th century who sought the camaraderie of like-minded makers. Whether united by artistic styles or social views, and whether their associations lasted for only a short period or for a lifetime, these makers found fertile ground in which to develop their vision in the creative atmosphere sustained by the company of others. Objects made by folk or outsider artists are also included. Within this context, their work provides an important perspective on community and the richness of creative inquiry.

Amy Torbert, Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Assistant Curator of American Art, considers works of art included in the third section of Art Along the Rivers: A Bicentennial Celebration. This talk explores the commercial objects designed and created by the dynamic communities of makers in the confluence region. By sparking dialogues among disparate materials and industries—from architectural design to clay, metals, textiles, and portraiture—this talk traces the continuities and changes that have shaped the area’s products over centuries.

Amy Torbert, Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Assistant Curator of American Art, explores works of art included in the second section of Art Along the Rivers: A Bicentennial Celebration. This talk presents the surprising variety of works of art created, collected, and exhibited in the St. Louis area during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It traces the development of the city’s private art collections and public exhibitions over a century, culminating in the 1909 formation of the City Art Museum (now known as the Saint Louis Art Museum). It also focuses on the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair to consider the contexts and methods of display encountered by its visitors.

Melissa Wolfe, curator of American art, explored works of art included in the first section of Art Along the Rivers: A Bicentennial Celebration. This talk introduced how the confluence of the three most powerful rivers in North America—the Mississippi, the Missouri, and the Ohio—and the major trade and migration routes have profoundly shaped the objects produced within the region. Geographic confluence also created notable cultural confluences, which resulted in objects that drew their form from the diverse traditions present in the area. As both an outpost and a gathering point, the region provided fertile ground for the growth of a distinctive artistic identity.

Melissa Wolfe, curator of American art, and artist Norman Akers (citizen Osage Nation) introduced the exhibition Art Along the Rivers: A Bicentennial Celebration. Akers explored issues of identity and culture, including Osage myths, place, and the dynamics of personal and cultural transformation as a Native American artist. He discussed his featured work and the connections between his practice and the overarching themes of the exhibition.

A recently installed gallery of southwestern Indigenous art at SLAM features a watercolor by Tonita Peña (Pueblo of San Ildefonso, 1893–1949). Alexander Marr, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Assistant Curator of Native American Art, explored Peña’s art and her role in histories of Native American modernism. The sole woman among the first Native easel painters in New Mexico, Peña innovated with the media, subjects, and patronage of Pueblo painting.

Co-curators Nichole Bridges, the Morton D. May Curator of the Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas, and Philippe Peltier, former head and senior curator of the Oceania and Insulindia unit, Musée du Quai Branly-Jacques Chirac, explore a few recently reinstalled artworks from Melanesia, Papua New Guinea, and Polynesia. They highlight selected masks and sculpture from the galleries at SLAM, discussing how these arts fostered community identity and cohesion.

This talk focused on the technical analysis and conservation treatment of the Garnsey Murals in SLAM’s Gallery 203 and the complex decision-making involved in a large-scale, public-facing project. SLAM conservator Courtney June Books and conservation interns Alex Chipkin and Laura Richter discussed how conservators tackle various challenges, including anything from cleaning decades’ worth of sooty grime to removing bowling alley wax from paint layers. This conservation project,  occurred during the summer of 2021.

This presentation by Eric Lutz, associate curator of prints, drawings, and photographs, took an in-depth look at select pieces in the exhibition “Architectural Photography from the Collection, 1850–2000.” It considered the various ways in which artists such as Walker Evans have responded to the built environment through the photographic medium.

No artist in any medium has had as pervasive an influence on world culture as William Shakespeare. How did it happen? What fed his soul and fired his imagination? And how has he inspired others? Tom Ridgely, Producing Artistic Director for the St. Louis Shakespeare Festival, explored select works from the Museum’s collection that reveal the sources, ideas, and reverberations of Shakespeare’s genius across the centuries and around the globe.

Victoria McCraven, the 2020-2021 Romare Bearden Graduate Museum Fellow, and Clare Kobasa, the assistant curator of prints, drawings, and photographs and study room manager, discussed works in the Museum’s collection by Dox Thrash, Selma Day, Raymond Steth, and other Black artists. Their talk addressed printmaking and mural practices developed during the 1930s and 1940s with funding from the Works Progress Administration and Dox Thrash’s invention of the carborundum mezzotint.

In celebration of Juneteenth 2021, Tiffany Momon, founder and codirector of the Black Craftspeople Digital Archive, explored the decorative arts, architecture, and handcrafts created by African Americans in the early American South and discussed how scholars, curators, and cultural institutions have historically neglected to highlight their stories and accomplishments. She introduced the Black Craftspeople Digital Archive and discussed the methods used to uncover Black craftspeople through examining historical documents, objects, and places. Momon also spoke about David Drake, creator of a vessel that was acquired by the Museum, as well as highlighted Black craftspeople who lived and worked in Missouri.

During the reign of King Piankhy (r. 732–712 BC), the Nubian kingdom of Napata conquered Egypt, ushering in an era of unprecedented wealth and power. The tombs of Piankhy’s queens and other royal women contained a variety of fascinating objects, including magnificent jewelry, elegant stone vessels, and, in one case, an unusual collection of geological specimens. This talk presents these finds and discuss their materials, techniques, iconography, and archaeological context. Presented by Denise M. Doxey, curator, ancient Egyptian, Nubian, and Near Eastern art at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

Please note: Due to audio issues, watching this video with closed captions is recommended.

This talk explored the rise of the modern art market in 19th-century France and the role artists played in this transforming marketplace. It focused on the Barbizon and pre-Impressionist landscape painter Théodore Rousseau and his pioneering strategies to promote his art. The program accompanied the publication of Simon Kelly’s book Théodore Rousseau and the Rise of the Modern Art Market: An Avant-Garde Landscape Painter in 19th-Century France.

Presented by Simon Kelly, curator and head of the Department of Modern and Contemporary Art

During summer 2021 conservators at the Saint Louis Art Museum undertook the treatment of wall and ceiling murals in Gallery 203. Painted by Elmer E. Garnsey in 1915, these architectural decorations once marked the original entrance to the Museum’s Richardson Memorial Library. Museum archivist Jenna Stout, conservator Courtney June Books, and curator Amy Torbert introduced the history of the Museum’s library, its grand paintings, and their current condition at the time.

Guest curator Denise Doxey explores the art and culture of ancient Nubia, Egypt’s enigmatic southern neighbor on the Nile. The Nubians created exquisite jewelry, sculpture, pottery, stone vessels, and architecture, yet the meaning behind these works is only beginning to be fully appreciated and understood.

Presented by Denise M. Doxey, curator, ancient Egyptian, Nubian, and Near Eastern art at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

Centering around the Saint Louis Art Museum’s exhibition Signed in Silk: Introducing a Sacred Jewish Textile, this talk showed how interdisciplinary research in the fields of decorative arts and economic, political, and religious history helped uncover and illuminate the rich material world of a young woman artist living in Ancona’s Jewish ghetto in the middle of the 18th century.

Presented by Genevieve Cortinovis, Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Associate Curator of Decorative Arts and Design

The artist Thomas Cole believed that “to walk with nature as a poet is the necessary condition of a perfect artist.” In celebration of Earth Day, curator Amy Torbert took a virtual stroll through landscapes of 19th-century American art. Through works of art, she visited New York, Italy, and Canada as she considered how artists—from Cole to Albert Bierstadt, William Trost Richards, David Johnson, Jasper Francis Cropsey, and Robert Seldon Duncanson—translated their obsession with studying nature into potent messages for viewers, both then and now.

Explore a varied group of engravings made in the earliest years of the medium’s development in Italy. Ranging in scale, function, and maker, these experiments with technique and imagery raise questions about the contexts in which they were made and consumed.

Presented by Clare Kobasa, assistant curator for prints, drawings, and photographs and Study Room manager

Curator of Asian art Philip Hu discussed the delicate floral motifs on Chinese blue-and-white porcelain of the Yuan and Ming dynasties from the Museum’s collection. He explored the methods used to create the objects, the utilization and relevance of the objects during that period, and the symbolic significance of the flowers and plants that adorn them. This program was a part of the Museum’s virtual 2021 Art in Bloom.

Hannah Klemm, associate curator of modern and contemporary art, and Victoria McCraven, 2020–2021 Romare Bearden Graduate Museum Fellow, discussed contemporary works by Black artists in the Museum’s collection. This program featured works from the 1990s in the Museum’s collection in which the artists examined the conditions of African American life after the civil rights movement. Ringgold, Ligon, and Marshall emphasized everyday, individual experiences while reflecting on historical contexts that spoke to their contemporary moment.

The exhibition Storm of Progress: German Art After 1800 from the Saint Louis Art Museum surveyed 200 years of artistic production from the Museum’s renowned holdings. But what is German art? And what role might such historic collections play for us today?  Guest speaker Lynette Roth, Daimler Curator of the Busch-Reisinger Museum, and Saint Louis Art Museum curators Hannah Klemm and Melissa Venator had a lively conversation about art and national identity in our global world.

In addition to being a compelling work of art, the Reclining Pan sculpture led an interesting life shaped by influential people. The marble started out as part of a second-century Roman monument. It was rediscovered during the Renaissance, and an unknown sculptor in the orbit of Michelangelo—perhaps Francesco da Sangallo—fashioned the figure of Pan, which was later purchased by one of the most powerful popes of the Baroque age. Centuries later, the pope’s heirs were allowed to sell the sculpture due to legislation enabled by Benito Mussolini.

Presented by Judith W. Mann, curator of European art to 1800

If you’ve ever wondered, What is German Expressionism? then join Melissa Venator, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Fellow for Modern Art, as she explores its intriguing artists, international roots, and enduring legacy through the lens of paintings in the permanent collection and in the special exhibition Storm of Progress: German Art After 1800 from the Saint Louis Art Museum.

Creating a major art exhibition can take years, but when the COVID-19 pandemic struck, Museum staff had mere months to produce Storm of Progress: German Art After 1800 from the Saint Louis Art Museum. Curators Simon Kelly and Hannah Klemm spoke about the process of exhibition planning, how the pandemic disrupted that plan, and the opportunities that it ultimately presented.