Modern St. Louis, 1940 to 1974: Art, Architecture and Social Change

3 units

This seminar addresses the research question, How did modern art and architecture become such a major aspect of St Louis's cultural life in the middle decades of the 20th century? Offered in preparation for a fall 2022 exhibition on this topic at the Kemper Museum, the seminar will research this question, both by presenting notable works of modern architecture that were built here and by examining art collecting and philanthropy here during this time period, where new and more socially inclusive values then associated with modern art had a significant impact on changing both the political and artistic culture of this large metro region. Architectural works to be researched include the works of Harris Armstrong; Cloethiel Woodard Smith (a Washington University architecture alumna); Samuel Marx; Frederick Dunn; Eric Mendelsohn; Eero Saarinen; Dan Kiley; Joseph Murphy and Eugene Mackey, Jr; George Hellmuth, Minoru Yamasaki and Gyo Obata; and Charles E. Fleming.