Airport Exhibition Encourages Travel Back in Time

(September 28, 2017- St. Louis) St. Louis Lambert International Airport is shining a light on the history of transportation in St. Louis with the exhibition, Traveling through Time: Photographs from the collections of the St. Louis Mercantile Library at the University of Missouri St. Louis.

The iconic black and white photos capture the S.S. Admiral at the St. Louis waterfront, hot air balloon travel, some of St. Louis’ first female airline pilots, St. Louis’ Union Station, a boatman navigating the Mississippi River, and an early view of the Eads Bridge.

The exhibition’s six iconic images draw from the Mercantile’s special collections including the Herman T. Pott National Inland Waterways Library; the John W. Barriger III National Railroad Library; and the Mercantile Library Archival and Art Museum Collections. The photographs, enlarged to nearly 7 ft. tall, are displayed in light display boxes on the passageways between the lower level of Terminal 1 and Baggage Claim.

The St. Louis Mercantile Library has collected and preserved the history of transportation in America. This was natural, considering St. Louis’ location at the hub of two major waterways and its role as gateway to the West, and the role of its founders as civic leaders and merchants. From its early river maps and railroad documents, these collections grew to include travel journals, photograph collections, and works by artists who traveled through and settled in St. Louis and who were captivated by the energy of a nation on the move.

The Traveling through Time exhibition is part of the Lambert Art & Culture Program’s temporary exhibition program. It will be on display through September of 2018. The program is supported by the Regional Arts Commission.

The Lambert Art & Culture Program is led by the seven-member Airport Art Advisory Committee. Current members are Lisa Cakmak, Associate Curator of Ancient Art at Saint Louis Art Museum; Ellen Gale, Executive Director Clayton Chamber of Commerce; Shelley Hagan, Wells Fargo Curator Corporate Art; Leslie Markle, Curator of Public Art, Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum; Kiku Obata, Founding Principal of Kiku Obata & Co.; Roseann Weiss, Director of Community and Public Arts for the St. Louis Regional Arts Commission; and Carlos Zamora, Creative Director at Express Scripts.

About St. Louis Mercantile Library at the University of Missouri St. Louis:

The St. Louis Mercantile Library at the University of Missouri St. Louis was founded by philanthropic businessmen in 1846 as a subscription library and continues today as a vibrant community and cultural asset. The Library makes its collections of American river and rail history, Western expansion and the history of the St. Louis region, and the growth of Missouri art and cultural history available to local and national users through educational programming, exhibitions, and online access.

Mercantile Library Media Contact:
Julie Dunn-Morton
Mercantile Library Endowed Curator of Fine Art Collections
314-516-6740
dunnmortonj@umsl.edu