Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum - Small Museum Worthy Of The St. Louis Royalty Naming

4.6 stars

Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum Takeaway. A small, free museum that punches above its square footage. I took in the museum in about thirty minutes. Each of the museum's three levels offers a different type of art. My favorite was the main level, which includes more contemporary art and the main exhibits. The upper level combines more classical art with some big names like Matisse and Picasso. The basement displays Greek artifacts and more avant-garde art.

One of the best free things to do in the city for grown-ups. Not kid-friendly.

Located on the entrance quad to Washington University across from Forest Park, finding free parking turned out to be quite difficult. There's a paid lot available. Amenities in the museum include a small cafe, gift store, bathrooms, and free wi-fi. The cafe's location has a great view of the main exhibit and would be a good place to spend an afternoon working. No food and no backpacks allowed. Odd hours, so check ahead.


Table Of Contents: Overview | Exhibits | Details & Info


Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum signage

Details

  • 1 Brookings Dr, St. Louis, MO 63130
  • (314) 935-4523
  • Website
  • Facebook
  • TripAdvisor - 4.5 stars - 31 ratings
  • Google Maps - 4.7 stars - 170 ratings

Hours

DayHours
Monday11 AM–5 PM
TuesdayClosed
Wednesday11 AM–5 PM
Thursday11 AM–5 PM
Friday11 AM–5 PM
Saturday11 AM–5 PM
Sunday11 AM–5 PM

Map


Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum Summary

Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum wash u quad

I walked up to the Kemper Museum on a cold, windy Thursday morning. I felt kind of grouchy from not having slept the previous night, and the cold made my mood worse.

My second museum in as many days, I'm becoming a grizzled veteran of St. Louis's free museum scene.

Opening the doors, I realized the relatively unassuming facade hides a more contemporary interior. The entrance area is a mix of concrete walls, giant glass windows, and two friendly twenty-somethings minding the information station.

Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum foyer

The first woman greets me with what I assume is a smile under her mask but gives some annoying news that makes my day worse.

They don't allow backpacks.

That means I'm going to be the guy taking pictures of everything, holding my computer under my arm. Why do these places have such odd rules? Do people really steal artwork in backpacks? Or maybe they can't control them.

More annoyed, I'm armed with my too-heavy old Dell under my arm. I'm thinking at least the Contemporary Art Museum let me turn my backpack into a chest pack.

With a final huff, I looked up to start taking in the museum.

And that's when it hits me. One of the best pieces in the museum. A giant, bright Lego mosaic contrasts with the sterile vibes of the museum.

At that moment, all the grouch wore off.

Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum lego mosaic Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum lego mosaic side

Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum Things To Do

Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum map

The Art Museum has three levels. I'll walk you through each one, following my path. Each level takes about 10 minutes to absorb without studying any one painting too deeply.

The museum is considerably smaller than something like the St. Louis Art Museum right down the road, but with more contemporary art.

Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum directions

First Level

Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum main exhibit Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum main exhibit description Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum main walkway Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum main wall

After taking in the Lego brick canvas, I turned right down to the other main exhibit. This exhibit contained 52 canvases that collected various levels of Mexico City soot.

Trust me when I say the result is way cooler than the description.

The cafe is right next to the exhibit and is a great place to spend an afternoon working. The Wi-Fi is super fast, and you have a view of one of the best exhibits.

Right past the main exhibit is a gallery room housing the other primary contemporary art display.

Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum kemper gallery Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum kemper gallery 2

Exiting the gallery and going back through the entrance area, you will see the permanent contemporary art exhibits.

Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum garen gallery Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum garen gallery 2 Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum ebsworth gallery

Second Level

Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum bernoudy gallery 1 Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum bernoudy gallery 2

The second level has more traditional "art" from the 1800s and early 1900s. These collections are permanent.

The first room is photorealistic paintings surrounded by oversized gold frames. The second room has more early 1900 painters and starts to get more abstract. I think I found the Maitesse in this room.

The third room, going clockwise, approaches mid-century art and, again, gets more abstract.

Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum matisse Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum picasso

Basement Level

Walking down the stairs from the Saligman Family Atrium takes you to the artifact. Tucked under the stairwell, kinda deserves to be there, in my opinion.

Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum greek artifacts

This kind of thing brings me back to my childhood museum PTSD, where my mom would drag us to boring museums.

Boring to me, at least.

Past the artifacts, you walk into the works on the paper and teacher galleries. Both of these galleries had darker, more haunting vibes. Some of them were interesting compositionally, but the videos in particular felt like they were what the guy in Saw would have played in the background.

Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum teachers gallery Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum works on paper

Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum Details And Info

Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum selfie

The Kemper Art Museum is at what I call the "grand entrance" to Washington University in St. Louis. It's on the left-hand side of the most picturesque part of the quad.

That also makes it a pain to get to if you're not a student. You'll have to walk up the entrance of the University to get there, like I did, or come from the campus side of the building.

Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum front

Like many attractions in St. Louis, it's free but with odd hours. The museum is closed on Tuesdays (?) and is open from 11 am to 5 pm on other days. I would LOVE 8 am to 2 pm hours during the work week so I could work all morning in the cafe.

Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum hours

Speaking of the cafe, it's half cafe and half gift shop. It's located near the bathrooms and has a great view of one of the main exhibits. The free Wi-Fi clocked in over 30mbs for me, so it would be a good place to set up a shop for a couple of hours of work.

Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum cafe Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum menu Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum gift store

The museum itself has a very modern, clean vibe to it. The staff was super helpful and answered all my questions about my favorite exhibits and wifi. Unfortunately, they'll also enforce the no backpack rule.

In addition to that, the St. Louis Museum's standard rule prohibits food and drink.

The Kemper Museum is not kid-friendly in the slightest. No exhibits aimed at kids. No area for kids to play. No kids in sight the whole time I was there.

There's probably an unofficial age minimum. I'm pretty sure one of my kids would break something.

Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum side of the building Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum statue

Parking At Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum

Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum front lawn

Finding free parking near the Kemper Museum is a pain in the butt.

After deciding not to park in the Wash U's paid parking lot, I spent a good five minutes driving around. While my time is probably worth more than the dollar it costs to park there, I can't bring myself to pay.

I ended up parking on a side street, a ten-minute walk away. Finding free parking nearby is very hard.

Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum Receipt

Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum receipt Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum sticker

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