ART HISTORY TRAIL is a self-guided tour of permanent displays in Historic Downtown Ste. Genevieve, supported by a grant from the US Bank Foundation and local art history enthusiasts. Maps are available at the Ste. Genevieve Welcome Center at 66 South Main or at the Sainte Genevieve Art Center and Art Museum at 310 Merchant St.
A downloadable copy is designed for 11" x 17" paper, so may not reproduce well on a smaller print size:
A downloadable copy is designed for 11" x 17" paper, so may not reproduce well on a smaller print size:
Some highlights of the Trail can be found at:
JOHN BAPTISTE VALLE HOUSE (A NPS PROPERTY)
10 oil paintings by Ste. Genevieve Art Colony artists owned by the Woman's Club of Ste. Genevieve are displayed at the historic home's Library located at Main and Market streets. This collection of artwork represents a turning point in American art produced during the difficult Depression years by a group of prominent artists who gathered here each summer from 1932 to 1941. In addition, the main rooms contain the Roscoe Misselhorn Gallery. 35 drawings owned by the City of Ste. Genevieve are displayed. Roscoe Misselhorn (1902-1997) from nearby Sparta, Ill. has been called the Norman Rockwell of the Midwest, and Ste. Genevieve was a favorite subject. The influence of the Artist's Colony and the Regionalist movement is revealed in his portrayals of local scenes. The main hallway includes work by M. Charles Rhinehart, a local artist of prominence.
FELIX VALLE HISTORIC SITE'S MATT ZIEGLER GALLERY AT SHAW HOUSE
NATIVE VISIONS: ANCIENT ART IN STE. GENEVIEVE COUNTY AD100 - AD 1300
Display of original pottery sherds and authentic replicas of art objects used in ceremonial context by Woodland and Mississippian peoples based on archaeological evidence. One wall of the Matt Ziegler Gallery, open during regular hours of the Felix Valle Historic Site upon request.
JOHN JAMES AUDUBON IN STE. GENEVIEVE
Three display panels and a portrait of the famous artist and naturalist describe his brief stay in Ste. Genevieve in 1811, what brought him here and why he left in a hurry. Lobby of the Hotel Audubon on Merchant Street at Main Street. Open during normal business hours.
WPA MURAL IN POST OFFICE
A panel underneath the mural on the west wall of the U.S. Post Office at 135 Merchant Street describes its creation, inspiration and funding. Martyl, daughter of Art Colony co-founder Aimee Schweig, and student of Thomas Hart Benton painted it in 1942.
This video provides an overview of the Ste. Genevieve Art Colony:
JOHN BAPTISTE VALLE HOUSE (A NPS PROPERTY)
10 oil paintings by Ste. Genevieve Art Colony artists owned by the Woman's Club of Ste. Genevieve are displayed at the historic home's Library located at Main and Market streets. This collection of artwork represents a turning point in American art produced during the difficult Depression years by a group of prominent artists who gathered here each summer from 1932 to 1941. In addition, the main rooms contain the Roscoe Misselhorn Gallery. 35 drawings owned by the City of Ste. Genevieve are displayed. Roscoe Misselhorn (1902-1997) from nearby Sparta, Ill. has been called the Norman Rockwell of the Midwest, and Ste. Genevieve was a favorite subject. The influence of the Artist's Colony and the Regionalist movement is revealed in his portrayals of local scenes. The main hallway includes work by M. Charles Rhinehart, a local artist of prominence.
FELIX VALLE HISTORIC SITE'S MATT ZIEGLER GALLERY AT SHAW HOUSE
NATIVE VISIONS: ANCIENT ART IN STE. GENEVIEVE COUNTY AD100 - AD 1300
Display of original pottery sherds and authentic replicas of art objects used in ceremonial context by Woodland and Mississippian peoples based on archaeological evidence. One wall of the Matt Ziegler Gallery, open during regular hours of the Felix Valle Historic Site upon request.
JOHN JAMES AUDUBON IN STE. GENEVIEVE
Three display panels and a portrait of the famous artist and naturalist describe his brief stay in Ste. Genevieve in 1811, what brought him here and why he left in a hurry. Lobby of the Hotel Audubon on Merchant Street at Main Street. Open during normal business hours.
WPA MURAL IN POST OFFICE
A panel underneath the mural on the west wall of the U.S. Post Office at 135 Merchant Street describes its creation, inspiration and funding. Martyl, daughter of Art Colony co-founder Aimee Schweig, and student of Thomas Hart Benton painted it in 1942.
This video provides an overview of the Ste. Genevieve Art Colony:
ART COLONY LEGACY information below will provide some background on the Colony:
The Sainte Genevieve Art Colony: Ste. Genevieve is famous for its French history and heritage. It is less well known that almost 200 years after its founding, a group of famous and near-famous American artists made some history of their own here. The Sainte Genevieve Art Colony was founded in 1932 and lasted until the unrest leading up to World War II ended the endeavor in 1940. Along with its offshoot, the Summer School of Art, the Colony attracted some of the period’s best known regional artists and several who went on to national fame. Throughout its tenure, the Colony was headquartered at the Shaw House, and the artists and students focused on the subjects they found here: the beauty of the countryside, the quaint charm of the little town’s historic architecture, and the people who lived in this small community. The works are vibrant examples of the Regionalism movement and a vivid portrait of the town as it was then.
The Art Colony Founders: Three figures were largely responsible for the creation of the summer art colony: Jessie Beard Rickly, Aimee Goldstone Schweig, and Bernard E. Peters. All three were St. Louisans who had experienced the creative stimulation of participating in already-famous artists’ communities on the East Coast. Hoping to be able to create a similar environment for artists in the Midwest, in the summer of 1932 they migrated to Sainte Genevieve. Why the founders selected Sainte Genevieve for their project was described by Rickly in a newspaper article from the period. There were two reasons she decided to spend the summer of 1932 painting in this city instead of at Gloucester or Provincetown, Massachusetts, she said. One was the Great Depression that had settled over the nation. The other was her “conviction that there were enough things worth painting in the Middle West, particularly at Ste. Genevieve, to make it worth while.”
The Shaw House as Studio: The plan for a summer colony moved quickly after Frank Nudescher, a friend of Peters who was known as “the painter of the Ozarks,” took Peters and Peters’ wife on their first visit to the town. Nudescher had been mpressed by the town’s architecture and quaintness. Peters was immediately taken with the community. He soon met local farmer and artist, Matthew E. Ziegler, whose family owned a rental house in the center of town that would be suitable as a live-in studio--the Shaw House, now part of the Felix Valle State Historic Site. Ziegler became the welcoming influence that encouraged the the St. Louis artists to form a Colony in Ste. Genevieve in the summer of 1932. Schweig, recently returned from the East and on her way to being well-known in art circles, signed on that same summer and played a leadership role. Other artists who visited and worked with colony that first summer included Vera Flinn, Miriam McKinnie, and Sister Cassiana Marie, along with Schweig’s young daughter, Martyl, and Sister Cassiana’s nephew, Ste. Genevieve resident Matthew E. Ziegler who also arranged housing, painting sites, supplies and food for the members.
The Colony’s First Show: In the Fall of 1932, the artists held their first show. Reports from the period say some 200 people attended the event, held at the Shaw House studio. Later, an exhibition of the art created here was mounted at the St. Louis Artists Guild and was well-received. Other artists joined the founders over the years, and by 1934 the Summer School of Art had been established. Over the next few years, notable artists were associated with the group, including Fred Conway, E. Oscar Thalinger, Joseph “Joe” Jones (who visited the Colony during its initial year), Joseph Paul Vorst, and art world luminary Thomas Hart Benton. (However, Rickly severed her ties with the project in 1935.) The Colony and school won significant attention and critical acclaim. But local events––notably strikes at area lime plants––changed the atmosphere of the town in 1937, and damped the enthusiasm of the artists. Deepening economic troubles, both locally and nationwide,also played a role in the cancellation of the Summer School of Art after that year. While Schweig, Peters and a few others made occasional visits to Sainte Genevieve after 1938 (Schweig kept a lease on the Shaw house until 1941), U.S. entry into World War II ultimately brought the demise of the Colony. But the Colony artists left their mark here and in far broader art circles.
The Lasting Legacy: The Colony experience matured Matt Ziegler, who grew from a hobbyist into a professional artist. And it impelled and equipped him to extend the Colony experiment in a less formally-organized version for four more decades, inspiring other artists and creating the groundwork for Ste. Genevieve's present role as an art community. The professional artists who came to Ste. Genevieve during 1941 - 1981 included Art Colony members Joe Vorst, Fred Conway and Martyl, St. Louis artists Siegfried Reinhardt, Dhimitri Zonia, and Barnett and Frances Evans. That he mentored talented youth, notably M. Charles Rhinehart, who also became a teacher and influential artist, kept the Colony flame burning. This ongoing interest in the Colony has provided the stimulus for the development of the contemporary art scene in Ste. Genevieve. A talented and active art community, a thriving local art guild, over a dozen public art venues, and a year-round schedule of art events are part of the Colony legacy. Today––even eight decades after the Colony closed its doors––Sainte Genevieve is home to and at home with the visual arts. Indeed, the town still can proudly proclaim: Art happens here!
Commemorations: The periodic celebration of the Art Colony legacy is known as Promenade des Arts. The Promenade was conceived and executed by a group of dedicated volunteers in 2001 as a celebration of Ste. Genevieve's proud artistic heritage. The site of the original Artists' Colony was the Shaw House, now part of the Felix Valle Historic Site, and permission was obtained from the State of Missouri to hold an exhibit of works by Colony artists. The Sainte Genevieve Art Guild adopted the event, and each year thereafter, an exhibit featuring an artist with connection to the Colony has been held at the Shaw House. But the foremost goal of the event remains to educate the public about the traditions of art in Ste. Genevieve. The reception for the Promenade des Arts is the highlight of the event, and often includes presentations, commemorations and artistic or historic connections with the Colony and the featured artist(s). The very first Art Colony exhibit was held September 29, 1932, at the Shaw House, and the Promenade des Arts has always been held within a week or two of that date. The following artists have been featured at previous Promenades: 2001 Art Colony Artists, 2002 Joseph Vorst, 2003 Charles Rhinehart, 2004 Leon Basler, 2005 Matthew Zeigler, 2006 Martyl, 2007 Roscoe Misselhorn, 2008 Marie Catherine "Dolly Dufour" Surkamp,
2009 Bette Geraghty, 2010 Thomas Hart Benton, 2011 Neo-Regionalists, 2012 Art Colony Founders: Jessie Beard Rickly, Bernard E. Peters, and Aimee Schweig, 2014 80th Anniversary of Summer School of Art: Matthew Zeigler, 2017 Bernard E. Peters
For biographies on Art Colony artists, two books are an excellent reference:
Rogers, James. G., Jr. The Ste. Genevieve Artists' Colony and Summer School of Art 1932-1941, Foundation for Restoration Sainte Genevieve, Missouri 1998
Kerr, Scott and Dick, R. H. An American Art Colony; the Art and Artists of Ste. Genevieve, Missouri 1930-1940. St. Louis Mercantile Library, 2004
The Sainte Genevieve Art Colony: Ste. Genevieve is famous for its French history and heritage. It is less well known that almost 200 years after its founding, a group of famous and near-famous American artists made some history of their own here. The Sainte Genevieve Art Colony was founded in 1932 and lasted until the unrest leading up to World War II ended the endeavor in 1940. Along with its offshoot, the Summer School of Art, the Colony attracted some of the period’s best known regional artists and several who went on to national fame. Throughout its tenure, the Colony was headquartered at the Shaw House, and the artists and students focused on the subjects they found here: the beauty of the countryside, the quaint charm of the little town’s historic architecture, and the people who lived in this small community. The works are vibrant examples of the Regionalism movement and a vivid portrait of the town as it was then.
The Art Colony Founders: Three figures were largely responsible for the creation of the summer art colony: Jessie Beard Rickly, Aimee Goldstone Schweig, and Bernard E. Peters. All three were St. Louisans who had experienced the creative stimulation of participating in already-famous artists’ communities on the East Coast. Hoping to be able to create a similar environment for artists in the Midwest, in the summer of 1932 they migrated to Sainte Genevieve. Why the founders selected Sainte Genevieve for their project was described by Rickly in a newspaper article from the period. There were two reasons she decided to spend the summer of 1932 painting in this city instead of at Gloucester or Provincetown, Massachusetts, she said. One was the Great Depression that had settled over the nation. The other was her “conviction that there were enough things worth painting in the Middle West, particularly at Ste. Genevieve, to make it worth while.”
The Shaw House as Studio: The plan for a summer colony moved quickly after Frank Nudescher, a friend of Peters who was known as “the painter of the Ozarks,” took Peters and Peters’ wife on their first visit to the town. Nudescher had been mpressed by the town’s architecture and quaintness. Peters was immediately taken with the community. He soon met local farmer and artist, Matthew E. Ziegler, whose family owned a rental house in the center of town that would be suitable as a live-in studio--the Shaw House, now part of the Felix Valle State Historic Site. Ziegler became the welcoming influence that encouraged the the St. Louis artists to form a Colony in Ste. Genevieve in the summer of 1932. Schweig, recently returned from the East and on her way to being well-known in art circles, signed on that same summer and played a leadership role. Other artists who visited and worked with colony that first summer included Vera Flinn, Miriam McKinnie, and Sister Cassiana Marie, along with Schweig’s young daughter, Martyl, and Sister Cassiana’s nephew, Ste. Genevieve resident Matthew E. Ziegler who also arranged housing, painting sites, supplies and food for the members.
The Colony’s First Show: In the Fall of 1932, the artists held their first show. Reports from the period say some 200 people attended the event, held at the Shaw House studio. Later, an exhibition of the art created here was mounted at the St. Louis Artists Guild and was well-received. Other artists joined the founders over the years, and by 1934 the Summer School of Art had been established. Over the next few years, notable artists were associated with the group, including Fred Conway, E. Oscar Thalinger, Joseph “Joe” Jones (who visited the Colony during its initial year), Joseph Paul Vorst, and art world luminary Thomas Hart Benton. (However, Rickly severed her ties with the project in 1935.) The Colony and school won significant attention and critical acclaim. But local events––notably strikes at area lime plants––changed the atmosphere of the town in 1937, and damped the enthusiasm of the artists. Deepening economic troubles, both locally and nationwide,also played a role in the cancellation of the Summer School of Art after that year. While Schweig, Peters and a few others made occasional visits to Sainte Genevieve after 1938 (Schweig kept a lease on the Shaw house until 1941), U.S. entry into World War II ultimately brought the demise of the Colony. But the Colony artists left their mark here and in far broader art circles.
The Lasting Legacy: The Colony experience matured Matt Ziegler, who grew from a hobbyist into a professional artist. And it impelled and equipped him to extend the Colony experiment in a less formally-organized version for four more decades, inspiring other artists and creating the groundwork for Ste. Genevieve's present role as an art community. The professional artists who came to Ste. Genevieve during 1941 - 1981 included Art Colony members Joe Vorst, Fred Conway and Martyl, St. Louis artists Siegfried Reinhardt, Dhimitri Zonia, and Barnett and Frances Evans. That he mentored talented youth, notably M. Charles Rhinehart, who also became a teacher and influential artist, kept the Colony flame burning. This ongoing interest in the Colony has provided the stimulus for the development of the contemporary art scene in Ste. Genevieve. A talented and active art community, a thriving local art guild, over a dozen public art venues, and a year-round schedule of art events are part of the Colony legacy. Today––even eight decades after the Colony closed its doors––Sainte Genevieve is home to and at home with the visual arts. Indeed, the town still can proudly proclaim: Art happens here!
Commemorations: The periodic celebration of the Art Colony legacy is known as Promenade des Arts. The Promenade was conceived and executed by a group of dedicated volunteers in 2001 as a celebration of Ste. Genevieve's proud artistic heritage. The site of the original Artists' Colony was the Shaw House, now part of the Felix Valle Historic Site, and permission was obtained from the State of Missouri to hold an exhibit of works by Colony artists. The Sainte Genevieve Art Guild adopted the event, and each year thereafter, an exhibit featuring an artist with connection to the Colony has been held at the Shaw House. But the foremost goal of the event remains to educate the public about the traditions of art in Ste. Genevieve. The reception for the Promenade des Arts is the highlight of the event, and often includes presentations, commemorations and artistic or historic connections with the Colony and the featured artist(s). The very first Art Colony exhibit was held September 29, 1932, at the Shaw House, and the Promenade des Arts has always been held within a week or two of that date. The following artists have been featured at previous Promenades: 2001 Art Colony Artists, 2002 Joseph Vorst, 2003 Charles Rhinehart, 2004 Leon Basler, 2005 Matthew Zeigler, 2006 Martyl, 2007 Roscoe Misselhorn, 2008 Marie Catherine "Dolly Dufour" Surkamp,
2009 Bette Geraghty, 2010 Thomas Hart Benton, 2011 Neo-Regionalists, 2012 Art Colony Founders: Jessie Beard Rickly, Bernard E. Peters, and Aimee Schweig, 2014 80th Anniversary of Summer School of Art: Matthew Zeigler, 2017 Bernard E. Peters
For biographies on Art Colony artists, two books are an excellent reference:
Rogers, James. G., Jr. The Ste. Genevieve Artists' Colony and Summer School of Art 1932-1941, Foundation for Restoration Sainte Genevieve, Missouri 1998
Kerr, Scott and Dick, R. H. An American Art Colony; the Art and Artists of Ste. Genevieve, Missouri 1930-1940. St. Louis Mercantile Library, 2004