The State Historical Society of Missouri

Main Gallery

Under Construction: Images of the Gateway Arch by Art Witman

June 20 – Sept. 5, 2009

This exhibition of mural-size photographs from the Western Historical Manuscript Collection-St. Louis illustrates construction of the 630-foot Gateway Arch. In 1947 architect Eero Saarinen won a national design contest for a monument to be placed in St. Louis, Missouri, commemorating westward expansion in the United States. Saarinen’s Gateway Arch was built during 1963 to 1965, and photojournalist Arthur Witman documented the process. Witman often joined workers high on the scaffolding to take breathtaking photographs - many of which are displayed in this exhibit.

North-South Corridor Gallery

“Wall Street and Main Street,” Editorial Cartoons on the Economic Crisis of the 1930s from the St. Louis Post–Dispatch

This exhibit chronicles the history of the Great Depression through the eyes of Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist Daniel Robert Fitzpatrick (1891-1969) of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Approximately fifty original pen-and-ink cartoons will be exhibited with information placing each image in historical context. Fitzpatrick’s works comment on the policies of Herbert Hoover, the election of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the New Deal, and additional Depression-era issues. According to AskART.com, Fitzpatrick is “acknowledged by many as the dean of editorial cartoons” and was known for “strongly supporting the rights of the underdog.” Viewers may draw parallels with the current economic crisis as they ponder the bold drawings, poignant images, and wry wit of “Fitz.”

Traveling Exhibit

Objects Worthy of Notice: The Wildlife Encountered by the Corps of Discovery

This exhibit presents a look at the rich diversity of wildlife observed by Captains Meriwether Lewis and William Clark during their 1804-1806 expedition through the newly acquired and relatively uncharted Louisiana Territory. Under instructions from President Thomas Jefferson to record “objects worthy of notice,” the naturalist-explorers scientifically documented 122 new species and expanded knowledge about many others. The elegant and detailed work of naturalists John James Audubon, John Woodson Audubon, and Charles W. Schwartz illustrate engaging excerpts from the explorers' journals.

Online

Main Street, Missouri

A photographic slideshow of images from the 19th and early 20th century.