Saint Louis University Museum of Art, Art museum at Saint Louis University, Missouri
The Saint Louis University Museum of Art is an art museum on the campus of Saint Louis University in St. Louis, Missouri, holding objects that span roughly 5,000 years of human creativity. The collection covers paintings, sculptures, and decorative objects from several continents and is spread across four floors of a Beaux Arts building.
The museum was formally established in 2002, though its roots go back further through collections tied to the Western Jesuit Missions. The building that houses it dates from the early 1900s and was originally used for other university purposes before being converted.
The museum sits on the Saint Louis University campus and reflects the Jesuit tradition of bringing together knowledge from many parts of the world. Visitors can see works from Africa, Asia, and the Americas displayed side by side, which makes it easy to compare how different peoples approached making art.
The museum is open midweek through Sunday, and mornings tend to be quieter than afternoons. The outdoor sculpture garden can be visited during the day and is a good starting or ending point for a tour of the building.
The entire top floor is dedicated to the John and Ann MacLennan Collection of Asian Decorative Arts, one of the more focused collections of its kind in the region. Many visitors are surprised to find such a specialized gathering of Asian craftsmanship in a university setting.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 60,000 contributors worldwide.
