Lauren Rogers Museum of Art

The Lauren Rogers Museum of Art in Laurel is an art museum that displays American paintings, European works, Japanese woodblock prints, British Georgian silver, and Native American baskets in its galleries. The collection spans multiple rooms designed to house these diverse artistic forms side by side.

The museum opened in 1923 as Mississippi's first art institution, established as a memorial to Lauren Eastman Rogers who passed away at age 23. Its founding created a cultural landmark that linked remembrance with the advancement of art in the region.

The Japanese gallery displays woodblock prints that transport visitors to a different artistic tradition, while American painters like Winslow Homer and John Singer Sargent represent the visual heritage of their time. Walking through these sections, you sense how art connects different cultures and periods.

The museum is located in Laurel and easy to reach; the interior spaces provide comfortable viewing with multiple galleries for different artworks. Plan enough time to move through the various collections and discover details in each exhibition area.

The interior showcases handcrafted details such as ironwork by Samuel Yellin and hand-molded plaster ceilings by Leon Hermant that visitors often miss. These artisan touches are as worthy of attention as the main collections and reveal the care taken in designing the building itself.