Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum

The Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum, part of the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts at Washington University in St. Louis, is recognized as one of the foremost university art museums in the United States. Established as both a teaching museum and a hub for cultural exchange, it has built a reputation for championing modern and contemporary art while supporting deep scholarly engagement. Its dual mission—to preserve a significant collection and to serve as a site of education and dialogue—anchors its role on campus and within the wider St. Louis community.

While the museum is best known for its holdings of 19th-, 20th-, and 21st-century works, its photography collection has become an increasingly vital part of its teaching and research programs. The museum recognizes photography not merely as a documentary medium, but as a central force in shaping visual culture, memory, and modern aesthetics. Its collection includes works by key figures who have expanded the possibilities of the medium, often challenging the boundary between photography and other forms of contemporary practice.

Photography exhibitions at the Kemper often spotlight how the medium engages social, cultural, and political issues, from explorations of identity and migration to examinations of urban environments and shifting landscapes. The museum has presented works by both international innovators and St. Louis–based artists, reinforcing its commitment to contextualizing global movements within local experience.

Students and scholars regularly engage with the collection through the museum’s study center, where photography is analyzed in the broader context of art history, theory, and visual culture. For the public, the museum’s photography exhibitions encourage critical reflection on how images shape perception in an image-saturated world.

Through its photography holdings and programming, the Kemper Art Museum underscores the essential role of the medium in understanding the contemporary condition, fulfilling its mission to inspire inquiry and creative thought.