Stanley and Joan Elkin’s Artistic Kingdom

May 31, 2025, will mark the 30th anniversary of Stanley Elkin’s death. Despite a long struggle with multiple sclerosis, Stanley was a prolific fiction and essay writer and a professor of creative writing at WashU for 35 years.

Stanley’s beloved wife Joan (Jacobsen) Elkin of 42 years, who died in 2022, was just as prolific a visual artist. Stanley dedicated almost all his books to Joan, and he was the subject of or inspiration for many of her paintings, illustrations, and collages.

The Stanley and Joan Elkin’s Artistic Kingdom exhibition, mainly drawn from the recently completed Stanley Elkin Papers, celebrates their artistic talents and inspiring life together. Joel Minor, curator of the Modern Literary and Manuscripts Collections, organized the exhibition.