Saint Louis Art Museum, Saint Louis

The Saint Louis Art Museum is the only permanent structure of the 1904 Fair and was designed by the famed architect, Cass Gilbert. It was then called the Palace of Fine Arts and is a combination of Classical and Renaissance architectural elements.

Construction began in 1902 and took one year to complete. It is constructed of gray limestone, and the main building's entrances are marked by Corinthian columns and lunette windows. Interestingly, the central space of the interior, Sculpture Hall, was modeled after the Roman Baths of Caracalla!

Galleries are arranged on the east & west sides In addition, this museum is the first municipally-supported art museum in the nation and admission is free to all.

The museum's location is just ten minutes from downtown St. Louis in the Forest Park along with the Zoo, the Science Center, and the history Museum.

Free gallery tours are given and usually last about 45 minutes at 2:00 pm Tuesdays through Sundays. There is a popular Museum Restaurant which overlooks Sculpture Terrace. Richardson Memorial Library, located within the Art Museum, owns over 80,000 catalogued volumes and is opened to the public from 10am-5pm Tuesday through Friday
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MAIN LEVEL houses American & European Painting and Sculpture, Ancient & Islamic Art, Asian Art, Sculpture Hall, Shoenberg Exhibition Galleries

SOUTH WING includes the membership offices, Museum Cafe

LOWER LEVEL
Includes African Art, American & European Decorative Arts, Period Rooms, Native American Art, Oceanic Art, Pre-Columbian Art.

SOUTH WING
Houses the Auditorium, Student Galler, Classrooms, and the Museum Shop
(It is a great Museum Gift Shop where I purchased a metal frog for my garden.)

UPPER LEVEL
Displays Modern Art, Contemporary Art, Prints, Drawings, and Photographs.

SOUTH WING
Home of Richardson Library, Education Offices, Friends Room, and Resource Center.

The St. Louis Art Museum (SLAM) was one of the highlights of my trip. Before you even get inside, the building is one of the lovliest museums I've seen in North America. It was built for the 1904 World's Fair and has housed the SLAM ever since.

Admission to the impressive permanent collection is always free, and on Fridays the special exhibits are free as well. When we were there they had exhibits of botanical illustrations, and art by the Osage first nation.

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This is a very nice art display of works of art in an elegant and dignified stone monument in Forest Park. The building if from the 1904 World's Fair, and was then Palace of Fine Arts. They have a variety mix of art; mostly paintings, that span Old European, American from early inception to modern day, Chinese, African, Egyptian, and Oceanic rooms. To see it all in detail, that may take about 3-4 hours, depending.

I've asked myself over and over why I haven't written a tip for one of my favorite places, until today. The St. Louis Art Museum is a large, wondrous institution I have visited many, many times for inspiration, for specific exhibits, hear some great and free music, to shop in their amazing museum shop (actually they have two), to watch a film, take a gallery tour, to eat lunch, or to just wander around, trying to discover something new or forgotten, by me. You would need a full day to see everything.

The smaller changing exhibit galleries are my favorite places. I think there are four of these galleries. Of course, they have a very large special exhibition all the time, allowing for the time it takes to install and de-install, in between each one. Regularly, this exhibit is more of an archeology or anthropology exhibit from some culture of the past or the Present. One of my favorites was a mask exhibition. But I've had many that I really liked and recommended to others. These exhibitions require a ticket at all times, but is free on Fridays all day & until 9 p.m. Even though the name is St. Louis Art Museum, the collections and special exhibitions represent every corner of the earth! Periodically, they hold special events. See the calendar on their web site, of course!

There's a free coat check. You can take photographs in some galleries, but without flash. Ask one of the guards for more information about that or directions to any of the galleries.

The building itself is very beautiful. The core of it was build for the 1904 World's Fair and is the only remaining building from the Fair, which was held in Forest Park. (To find out more about the fair, go to my History Museum tip & search the web site.)

Entrance to the museum is free all the time. Fridays are their late day, open from 10 to 9. They are closed on Mondays and on a few holidays.

This is my number 2 place to visit in St. Louis. The Art Museum is the last building left from the 1904 World's Fair and it is beautiful. The Art Museum is located on a hill in Forest Park. This is probably the prettiest location (outside the Botanical Gardens) in St. louis.

The Gift Shop is very nice and classy.

The Art is extensive with Monet's "Water Lilys" located here and with many other famous works of art.

This is one location in St. Louis that you should visit. If you arrive on a rainy or cold day (or if the summer's heat and humidity get to be too much!), this Museum will help pass the time away.

I have been a regular at the Saint Louis Art Museum since I was a little kid coming with my family. The large open galleries are filled with works ranging from Monet, to Egyptian, to an up and coming local artist. I find it very relaxing to wander through the vast halls and admire whatever catches your eye. Admission is free, although a donation is appreciated.

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While this event is only held once a year in late winter, it is well worth the effort to get there! This year it was held the 2nd weekend in March. The program says, "During Art in Bloom weekend, stroll through the Museum's gallaries or take a free, docent-led tour of the floral arrangements and the art that inspired them. Enjoy flower-arranging demonstrations and fabulous music by talented performers . . . " I have been attending this festival for years now, and I must say that it has caused me to really look at the art in the gallery, rather than just browse it. You also get to see casual art lovers in the most unusual and fun poses as they try to decipher what the floral arranger had in mind. And while there, the Saint Louis Art Museum has some very fine art on display at all times.

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We spent about 4 hours inside the museum and I would have loved to have stayed longer. There were large collections of artwork throughout! The special exhibits had a charge, I believe that it was worth every penny! A lot of variety in this museum! Would like to visit again and spend more time!

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We spent about 4 hours inside the museum and I would have loved to have stayed longer. There were large collections of artwork throughout! The special exhibits had a charge, I believe that it was worth every penny! A lot of variety in this museum! Would like to visit again and spend more time!

This is a nice little museum with decent collections. I was there for the "Art in Bloom" weekend. recommended!