“Art Along the Rivers: A Bicentennial Celebration” explores the remarkable artwork produced and collected over 1,000 years in the region surrounding St. Louis. The exhibition presents more than 150 objects from Missouri as far north as Hannibal, west to Hermann, and south through the Old Mines area.

The two pieces that will be exhibited at the Saint Louis Art Museum are replicas of the Athens, Greece Originals: “West Frieze, Parthenon, Dismounted Horseman (xii.22), 442-438 B.C.” and “West Frieze, Parthenon, Dismounted Horseman (iii.4) 442-438 B.C.” 

“It’s a great honor to have the University and its Museum and collection profiled,” said Jim Phillips, Crisp Museum manager and curator. “I hope that this project and others will show researchers, and other institutions the treasures that we have and care for.” 

Southeast’s contribution to the exhibit comes from the Houck Statuary Collection, acquired in

late 1904 by Louis Houck. In addition to being a Missouri railroad entrepreneur, Houck was a member of the Board of Regents for the Cape Girardeau State Normal School, as the University was then known. 

The two pieces were selected for St. Louis Art Museum exhibition because of their smaller size and condition, said Phillips. The Houck Collection was originally transported from St. Louis to Cape Girardeau by steamboat, and then by horse and cart from the riverfront to Southeast’s campus, and the larger pieces were simply too fragile to move again.

All but two surviving plaster works of the original Houck Collection are housed at Barbara Hope Kem Statuary Hall in the Aleen Vogel Wehking Alumni Center, with the plaster works on display at the Crisp Museum in the Cultural Arts Center of the River Campus. 

“It is a fascinating collection of artworks,” Phillips said of the Houck Collection. “The story of how it was purchased, moved and curated, and how it has survived and endured here at the University, demonstrates that small acts of inspired individuals can help shape a region.” 

The collection consisted then of 58 pieces of artwork by the highly reputable German artist August Gerber, who created reproductions of ancient world-famous art for the German educational exhibit at the 1904 World’s Fair in St. Louis. 

The Houck Statuary Collection helps the Saint Louis Art Museum tell the story of the World’s Fair, and its impact in the region. Phillips said the collection also pays tribute to the institutions like Southeast that have held onto unique pieces of work for over a century.

The Saint Louis Art Museum exhibit opens Sunday, Oct. 3, and runs through Jan. 9, 2022. Tickets are $12 per adult; $10 per senior or student; $6 per child (6-12 years old); and free for children 5 and under. Admission is free for Saint Louis Art Museum members. Tickets are 50% off on the following dates: Oct. 12, 13 and 14; Nov. 9, 10 and 11; Dec. 14, 15 and 16.

For more information or to purchase tickets, visit metrotix.com/events/detail/art-along-the-rivers.