Exhibitions
The Freedom Suits
The Freedom Suits exhibition tells the extraordinary history of people who sued for freedom from enslavement in the 19th century....
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Snakes on the Page
Snakes, serpents, vipers, or pythons… regardless of what you call them, it is undeniable that these legless reptiles have captivated...
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Forging a Nation: The Founding of the U.S. Mint, 1792
From ancient times, coinage production has acted as a mark of sovereignty. The circulating money of the colonies and the...
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Literary St. Louis
Home to literary giants Mark Twain, T.S. Eliot, Marianne Moore, Maya Angelou, and John Keene (to name a few!), St....
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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...
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Past Exhibitions
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Exhibition Medals of Independence
One of the most iconic images in American memory is John Trumbull’s Declaration of Independence. Congress commissioned the painting in...View Exhibition about Medals of Independence -
Exhibition Gateway to the East: China at the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair
The Louisiana Purchase Exposition, also known as the St. Louis World’s Fair, opened its doors to the public on April...View Exhibition about Gateway to the East: China at the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair -
Exhibition Slavery in St. Louis
This exhibition details slavery in St. Louis through primary documents, images, and individual stories from 1764 to the Reconstruction era....View Exhibition about Slavery in St. Louis -
Exhibition Coins Across Time: Ancient to American Numismatics
Drawing from the WashU Wulfing Collection of ancient coins and private collectors, the Coins Across Time exhibition examines aspects of...View Exhibition about Coins Across Time: Ancient to American Numismatics -
Exhibition Chris Jackson and Chrystal Jackson: Somewhere in the Stars
The Chris Jackson Collection preserves a history of LGBTQ culture and musical theater.View Exhibition about Chris Jackson and Chrystal Jackson: Somewhere in the Stars -
Exhibition Football Programs
These football programs were printed for each game and chronicle the history of Bears Football, giving a taste of campus...View Exhibition about Football Programs -
Exhibition Secret Sciences: The Hidden Arts of Alchemy
Secret Sciences examines alchemy, from its scientific applications to its complicated symbolic language and its influence on the arts.View Exhibition about Secret Sciences: The Hidden Arts of Alchemy -
Exhibition MADness Unleashed: The World of MAD Magazine
MADness Unleashed is an overview of MAD Magazine and its place within American culture with items from the Jim &...View Exhibition about MADness Unleashed: The World of MAD Magazine -
Exhibition Rogers Broadside
A July 1776 edition of the Declaration of Independence known as the Rogers Broadside was loaned to the WashU Libraries...View Exhibition about Rogers Broadside -
Exhibition Domesticated Pulp: Archie Publications and the Comics Code
The Comics Code Authority enforced a set of guidelines in a period of censorship and regulation for over fifty years,...View Exhibition about Domesticated Pulp: Archie Publications and the Comics Code -
Exhibition The Assembled Playwright: Harley Hammerman’s Eugene O’Neill Collection
Alumni Harley Hammerman has made the Julian Edison Department of Special Collections an important center for O’Neill studies.View Exhibition about The Assembled Playwright: Harley Hammerman’s Eugene O’Neill Collection -
Exhibition Wicked Women: White Women as Perpetrators of Mass Violence
Wicked Women explores the connection between whiteness, gender, and violence in women carrying out acts of mass violence and discrimination.View Exhibition about Wicked Women: White Women as Perpetrators of Mass Violence