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In Between Me and the World: Women Artists in the Collection of the Saint Louis University Museum of Art

12/04/2020

In Between Me and the World: Women Artists in the Collection of the Saint Louis University Museum of Art, an exhibition that highlights the breadth of works in the Saint Louis University Museum of Art (SLUMA) collection by women artists, ranging from the late nineteenth century to the present day, is now on view at SLUMA. 

Ophelia

Emma Meyer (b. Flansburg, Denmark; d. 1921), Ophelia, 1895, oil on canvas. Saint Louis University Museum of Art, gift of the Adorers of the Blood of Christ.

In Between Me and the World is a joint effort of the art history course ARTH 4900 Research Methods and SLUMA.

The exhibition is now on view at SLUMA, which is open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday to Friday. The museum is currently closed to the public but open free of charge to SLU students, staff and faculty. A University ID is required for admittance.

The museum will be closed Dec. 24 until Jan. 3, 2021, after which the exhibition will remain on view throughout the spring semester.

In Between Me and the World highlights the breadth of works in the SLUMA collection by women artists, ranging from the late nineteenth century to the present day. The exhibition is both a celebration of the accomplishments of these gifted artists and an exploration of the obstacles often faced by women in the visual arts, a field in which women have long suffered from a grossly disproportionate representation.

Many of the works are on view in the University galleries for the first time, including six items from the recent donation of art and historical artifacts to the University by Timothy and Jeanne Drone.

The exhibition begins with a temporary installation on the first floor and continues into the galleries on the second floor, where paintings, prints, photographs and sculptural works by women in the permanent collection are identified by labels bearing the title of the exhibition, as well as a brief biological sketch and analysis.

Two of the works in the exhibition, Nude by Bertha Hewitt and Ophelia by Emma Meyer, are on display at the Samuel Cupples House, which is located on the West Pine Mall a short walk from SLUMA. Cupples House has the same hours, closure dates and admittance requirements as SLUMA.

Curated by Bradley Bailey, Ph.D., associate professor of art history, and students Emily Gideon, Paris Hubler, Angelique Kuenstler, Colton Marks, Yancy McCarron, Gabrielle Townley and Molly Ward, In Between Me and the World was conceived as an opportunity for advanced art history students to work directly with the University collection while benefiting from the experience of faculty and staff.

This is the second collaboration between SLUMA and the art history program’s research methodologies course, the first being the exhibition Race and Representation: Euro-American Depictions of Native Americans and Their Cultures, which was on view at the museum from December 2018 to May 2019.