Articles > Museums

Nature of Art

The Barbizon School and Nature of Landscape exhibit opens at the Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum of Washington University from May 2 to July 21. Free and open to the public, the show celebrates a natural form of art, popular in Barbizon France between 1830-1880. In response to what was perceived as highly superficial city life in the nineteenth century, this form used rustic and pure scenes from nature in which man interacted more holisticall…... Read more >

Trails to the Frontier

By Kate Gilliam

Entering the National Frontier Trails Museum in Independence feels like stepping into a cozy log cabin, with its hardwood floors, wooden beams, and exposed ceiling. A violin track plays old-fashioned tunes. The rustic atmosphere and friendly attendants invite visitors to learn about life on the frontier.

About four-hundred-thousand travelers braved the three main trails between 1840 and 1860. Of those travelers, about o…... Read more >

National Silk Tapestries Museum

A National Treasure

By Diana Lambdin Meyer

While in college and in the Army, John Pottie of Platte County played a lot of pool. He became pretty good at it and even traveled on the professional circuit in the 1970s. He never made any real money, but he enjoyed collecting pool and billiards memorabilia.

At a flea market in Milwaukee, he found what he thought was an inexpensive print of Victorian men and women playing billiards. Af…... Read more >

A Zeal for Wheels Car Museum

When Fulton’s Kmart closed its doors in 1994, Bill Backer saw his opening. An avid car collector with more than 100 vehicles, he lacked the space to store them in one location. So he bought the 37,000-square-foot building and set about opening a car museum to share his collection with others.

Bill, 75, had wanted to open a car museum for years. His collection was stored in garages and barns around Fulton. To help with the project, Bill hire…... Read more >