Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum, Washington University, 1 Brookings Dr
St. Louis, MO 63130
The Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum, popularly known as "The Milly," is an art museum located on the campus of Washington University in St. Louis, within the university's Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts. It was founded in 1881 as the St. Louis School and Museum of Fine Arts, and initially located in a building in downtown St. Louis. It is the oldest art museum west of the Mississippi River. Its collection was formed in large part by acquiring significant works by artists of the time, a legacy that continues today. The Museum contains strong holdings of 19th-, 20th-, and 21st-century European and American paintings, sculptures, prints, installations, and photographs. The collection also includes some Egyptian and Greek antiquities, Old Master prints, and the Wulfing Collection of approximately 14,000 ancient Greek, Roman, and Byzantine coins.The museum moved to its current home, designed by Pritzker Prize-winner Fumihiko Maki, in 2006.Foundation and Early YearsThe museum was established in 1881 as part of Washington University in St. Louis, under the name of the St. Louis School and Museum of Fine Arts. Halsey C. Ives served as the museums first director, and during his tenure, the collection focused on contemporary American artists, notably William Merritt Chase.