I really need to take a moment here to thank the Explore St. Louis (@explorestlouis) Instagram page because if it weren’t for them, I would probably never of learned about this hidden gem in our city! Seriously, if you’re in and around St. Louis you need to be following this account! They showcase so many awesome places around town that by giving them a follow, you’ll never run out of things to do!
A convenient combination of their February 6th post showcasing the Saint Louis University Museum of Art, or SLUMA, and my boss telling me a couple days back that the same Instagram post sent her there, caused me to promptly visit this truly outstanding gallery of art and I couldn’t be more thankful I did!
SLUMA has apparently been around since 2002, which makes it all the more crazy it took me twenty-one years to learn of its existence! I love art, so seriously shame on me! Who even knows what other artistic jewels I’m unaware of around here? At SLUMA you’ll find a variety of works by an even broader variety of artists, as well as an extensive collection of Jesuit artifacts and artworks. Housed on the Saint Louis University campus in a gorgeous 20th century Beaux Arts style building, the museum offers four floors and fifty-five thousand square feet of galleries to the public at absolutely no cost!
Honestly, I thought the building itself was a work of art. I love architecture and this enchanting edifice was erected in 1900.
I was absolutely in love with the marble floors and stairwells. Again, the building itself was as much of an art piece as what is now housed inside.
Ten second timer is my best photographing friend.
Most the galleries were plenty spacious, which was nice, but given that there were only two other patrons in the museum with me the entire 75 minutes I was there, I nearly always had each gallery all to myself.
I couldn’t agree with this statement more. I’ve recently felt like I wasn’t writing my own narrative, just living it, so coming to SLUMA was a necessary step in helping me center myself and taking back my story.
This work is called “Arched Soft Screw as Building,” but when I looked at it, I immediately thought of the Sorting Hat from the Harry Potter series. Proud member of Slytherin House right here by the way.
Coca-Cola is my favorite drink in the whole entire world, so seeing this piece honestly thrilled me. I also thought the “H” reminded me of Houlihan’s, which is a restaurant chain I miss dearly. Their side salads were legit my favorite because they were loaded with corn. Ugh. I hate they don’t exist in St. Louis anymore. Also, it should be noted, Houlihan’s of course served Coca-Cola.
The moment I saw this blown glass, I thought of…
…this dinosaur from the original Jurassic Park movie, which of course then made me think of…
…Wayne Knight, or Nedry, his character from the film, who bears an uncanny resemblance to…
…this woman in this picture, who happens to be my wife.
Oh the places our minds will go when we allow them free to wander. Never imagined I’d leave this museum thinking about that scene from Jurassic Park, but here we are.
I felt they did an excellent job at making the smaller galleries very aesthetically pleasing.
I assume there was no one else here with me because not one person I’ve told about this place has ever even heard of it, which is why I’m doing this blog. Word needs to get out because this place is too great to keep secret!
Summertime is my favorite season and I love the sun anytime of the year, so this lithograph by Salvador Dali brightened my day.
Anything bird related is always my favorite, so when the restroom on the second level had all bird artwork inside, I couldn’t have been happier.
There was a gallery on the second level dedicated to artist Einar Håkonarson’s Auschwitz Series and let me tell you what, it was incredibly moving and powerful. The one I chose to showcase above is entitled, “Transportation- The Death Train.” Definitely left this small room with some big feelings of sadness.
There was art everywhere and I loved that. Always something to see.
Never met a mirror I didn’t love.
There were lots of paintings of “Madonna and Child” and because I’m not religious, I don’t know her story, BUT what I do know is Madonna, the Queen of Pop, so each time I read her name, I would get her smash hit, “Like A Prayer” in my head. Can’t wait to see her perform that jam live in July!
The third floor was almost entirely dedicated to Jesuit artworks and artifacts. It was not as well lit as the second or first floor and definitely carried a weight about it as some of these items were substantially old. The mysticism of it all was most intriguing.
I would love a desk like this.
Because I was all alone when I was up on the third floor, I kept seeing these wax figures off to the side or far away and thinking they were actual people. I didn’t mind them up close, but overall, they were kind of creeping me out.
This floor was an awesome map with the lines in the center representing the rivers. I loved this. I also thought the robe off to the right corner reminded me of what Lord Voldemort wore in the Harry Potter films, so again, I had Harry Potter on the brain.
I guess it still went with the Jesuit theme of the third level, but along the floor map, there were several Native American artifacts and artworks. I love Native American culture, so this part was really intriguing to me, however, I knew my time was limited because my parking meter was coming close to running out, so I didn’t get to spend the time up here that I truly wanted.
The globe on the left is the Celestial Globe while the one on the right is the Terrestrial Globe. This pair of Blaeu globes reflects the state of geographical knowledge among European cartographers following more than a century of global exploration and discovery.
Again, that ten second timer can always be counted upon.
Even the stairwells had art on display!
The fourth floor was closed, but I would love to know what was up there. Guess I’ll have to come back another time to find out!
The doors, the lights, the building, I just loved the exterior (and obviously interior) of SLUMA!
Plenty of streetside parking! Just be sure to pay your meter!
Housed in the Doris O’Donnell Hall, SLUMA is open Wednesday through Sunday from 11:00 a.m. till 4:00 p.m. and is located at 3663 Lindell Boulevard, St. Louis, Missouri, 63108. It’s perfectly sandwiched between the New Masonic Temple of St. Louis and the Scottish Rite Cathedral, but the building is large enough to not be missed.
Honestly, expectations were exceeded all around! I looked up SLUMA prior to going, so I kind of had an idea of what I was in store for, but let me tell you what, there was so much more going on here! It was bigger and better than I anticipated and definitely a place I see myself returning to again and again as they have rotating exhibits like any other major art institute. So if you’re looking for a new place to go to get in touch with your artistic and mindfulness side, then I would absolutely recommend the St. Louis University Museum of Art. SLUMA will surely have you walking away in better spirits than you arrived!
Thank you so much for viewing! I appreciate you greatly! Please feel free to leave a comment below as I love reading and responding to them! Be sure to subscribe if you haven’t done so already! I always appreciate all your support! I’ll return soon with another all-new post, so until then, I wish you all, all the best!
Working hard everyday towards achieving my goal of becoming an international best-selling author. Wrote the book, just need the agent and publisher. Received the ultimate endorsement when Britney Spears wrote me saying she'd be one of the first in line to buy my book! #FreeBritney
Looks like a neat place and I laughed at that dinosaur picture of your wife that definitely made me laugh. Lol.
I can’t help the blown glass resembled that iconic dinosaur that is so closely related to my wife’s doppelgänger! 🤷🏼♂️😂