SLUMA Exhibitions
Current Exhibitions
The Past Beneath Our Feet: Tom Finan's 20 Years Excavating in Ireland
Nov. 15, 2024-Jun. 1, 2025
History permeates every corner of our world, often concealed within the layers of soil beneath our feet. As archaeological endeavors persistently excavate and scrutinize these concealed depths, novel discoveries continuously reshape and refine our comprehension of the past.
The pervasive nature of history asserts its presence in numerous forms, from minute artifacts to expansive ruins, each bearing witness to bygone eras. Through meticulous excavation and rigorous analysis, archaeologists unearth artifacts that serve as portals to the past, elucidating cultural practices, societal structures, and technological advancements that otherwise would be lost.
"The Past Beneath Our Feet" presents the findings of Thomas Finan, Ph.D.,'s two decades of exploration in Ireland. SLUMA invites you to discover these artifacts for yourself and ignite your curiosity about the world that came before us.
Renaissance Man: Paintings by the Honorable Nathan B. Young Jr.
Nov. 15, 2024-Jun. 1, 2025
A man of diverse talents and ambitions, Nathan B. Young Jr., served the city of St. Louis as a lawyer, judge, historian and journalist while pursuing his creative passions as a novelist, musician and artist. After more than 30 years of practicing law in St. Louis, Young served as the assistant city counselor until 1965, when he was appointed judge of Municipal Court No. 2, the first African American to serve in the position in St. Louis.
Before his death in 1993, the Saint Louis University Archives began working with Young and his family to preserve his vast archive of personal effects. Among his collections were over 500 acrylic-on-canvas paintings executed over a 20-year period between the mid-1960s and mid-1980s. A self-taught artist, Young's paintings reveal that he was well-versed in the history of art, particularly in the major European and American works depicting people of African descent, as well as images related to the American anti-slavery and Civil Rights movements. "Renaissance Man," curated by the participants in the art history course, ARTH 4900: Research Methods, presents a selection of works that demonstrate Young's complex and multidimensional engagement with racial themes through the lens of art history.
Persuasive Politics: Presidential Campaign Memorabilia
Aug. 30, 2024-Dec. 22, 2024
Displayed every four years, "Persuasive Politics" features SLUMA's collection of presidential campaign memorabilia. Included are objects such as a George Washington coat button, an "I Like Ike" cigarette pack, and a Votomatic voting machine (with butterfly ballots). This exhibition's 700 campaign items range from the historic and stoic to the contemporary and whimsical, providing a comprehensive view of campaign memorabilia across the political history of the United States.
Long-term Exhibitions
Einar Hákonarson: The Auschwitz Etchings
Over the course of a 40-year career, Einar Hákonarson (b. 1945) has become one of Iceland’s most distinguished artists, with 30 exhibitions in multiple countries. He was educated at the Iceland Academy of the Arts (Iceland’s national art school) and the Valand School of Fine Arts of the University of Gothenburg in Sweden. Primarily a painter, he has also won numerous awards for his work in printmaking, and he reignited interest in the medium of printmaking in Iceland. In 1965, as a student at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden, he made a life-changing trip to Auschwitz. Reflecting on that experience, the artist said, “this visit [to Auschwitz] influenced me tremendously. I simply was not the same as before.”
While a large portion of his work since the Auschwitz visit has dealt with human suffering, Hákonarson made a series of six etchings between 1965 and 1967 that specifically referenced his reflections on Auschwitz. He dedicated the six etchings to the victims of the Holocaust as well as to all victims of hatred, bigotry and injustice. Although intimate in scale, the etchings explore the spirit of the human person to persevere and triumph even in the midst of atrocities on such an epic scale. The etchings remain witnesses to humanity’s dark side, but they are also expressions of hope that in the face of such evil, the vigilant human spirit can still triumph and prevail.
We invite you to spend time with these works, to read the artist’s own reflections on the themes in each of the prints, and to see that, in light of the many contemporary global trouble spots, the message of the Auschwitz Etchings is timelier than ever.
Cartier: A Visionary Journey
In 1847, Louis-François Cartier founded the luxury jewelry and watch brand Cartier. Through his visionary entrepreneurship and the strategic and creative acumen of his sons and grandsons, Cartier rose to become the pinnacle of the international jewelry industry. Louis-François' grandson Pierre married Ella Rumsey, daughter of American tycoon Moses Lee Rumsey Jr. This strategic marital alliance facilitated Cartier's expansion into the American market.
This exhibition provides a glimpse into the lives of the Cartier and Rumsey families through photographs, letters, and documents gifted to Saint Louis University by the family of Marion Rumsey Cartier, daughter of Pierre and Ella, in 1997.