The works of seven mid-century artists who were friends, colleagues, mentors, students, and interestingly, a mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, are reunited in Sarah Cunningham’s, photographed above, current exhibition at her gallery Walker-Cunningham Fine Art.
Mid-Century St. Louis, which Cunningham sourced mostly from private collections, includes oils, watercolors, etchings, and woodblock prints spanning the years 1947-1983, a period known for its vibrant art scene in our town.
As Cunningham explained, “For me, the beauty of this show is how well they all hang together—it’s an ongoing conversation among these artists, who saw success in St. Louis and also exhibited and won awards well beyond our city border in London, Germany, New York, D.C., and Chicago. They are represented in numerous museum collections too–The Met, MOMA, Guggenheim, and Smithsonian.”
She continued, “I have made it my goal to show the integral connections each artist has to the St. Louis art scene and how they may have influenced the community during that period of time, which naturally spans to the present day.”
An example of each artist’s work follows, along with the “St. Louis Connections” info, showing similar paths the friends followed—a brilliant idea—and for some of us, a trip down memory lane remembering galleries such as Martin Schweig’s, mentioned below, which was located on Maryland Avenue, where Starbucks is now located. The connections’ labels are also installed beside each painting in the exhibition to emphasize the artists’ impact on the St. Louis art scene.
Belle Cramer (1883-1978), Unto the Outmost Parts of Heaven, oil on canvas, 51 3/8 x 61 1/2 inches, 1961, framed in solid walnut.
St. Louis Connections:
- Born in NYC, Cramer became a resident of St. Louis in 1940, when her husband took a position at Barnard Free Skin and Cancer Hospital.
- Member: St. Louis Artists’ Guild, Group 15, Painters Gallery, Academy of Professional Artists.
- Education; Washington University under Fred Becker (Print Department) 1956-69.
- Exhibited: Eleanor Smith Galleries, St. Louis Artists Guild, Martin Schweig Gallery, Saint Louis Art Museum, Lindenwood College (University), Gallery 508, Painters Gallery, Loretto-Hilton Center Gallery at Webster College ( University), and Washington University.
- Teaching: People’s Art Center, and the YMCA, as well as private classes held in her Delmar Blvd. studio.
Fred Conway (1900 to 1973), Going Out, watercolor on paper, 23 1/2 x 29 1/2 inches, framed in solid walnut.
St. Louis Connections:
- Grew up in St. Louis and attended Washington University, 1924-1929.
- Member: St. Louis Artists’ Guild, Group 15, Painters Art Gallery, Academy of Professional Artists.
- Exhibited at Saint Louis Art Museum. Works purchased by SLAM and Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum.
- Altar painting commissioned for Trinity Episcopal Church, 600 N. Euclid
- Altar painting commissioned for Old Cathedral St. Louis on the Riverfront.
- Teaching: 1929-1944 St. Louis Public Schools, 1944-1970s Washington University
Emily Ann Cramer (1913-1999), (Belle Cramer’s daughter-in-law), Approaching Storm, mezzotint on cream wove paper, 14 3/4 x 15 5/8 inches, 1983, framed in solid walnut.
St. Louis Connections:
- Moved to St. Louis from Chicago in 1947.
- Studied under Fred Conway after Chicago Art Institute and NYC’s Arts Students League in NYC.
- Member: St. Louis Artists Guild, Martin Schweig Gallery, Mary Institute, Community School, Ethical Society of St. Louis, and City Art Museum (Saint Louis Art Museum).
Werner Drewes (1899-1985), Waterfall, Catskills, NY, watercolor on paper, 29 1/2 x 22 1/4 inches, 1950, framed in solid walnut.
St. Louis Connections:
- Member: St. Louis Artist’s Guild.
- Exhibitions: Saint Louis Art Museum, Washington University, St. Louis Artist’s Guild, Pen and Palette, People’s Art Center, Art Mart, Painters Gallery.
- Teaching: After stints at Colombia University, Brooklyn Museum School, and Chicago School of Design, Art Department, Washington University 1946-1965.
Helen Smith (1917-2005), Untitled Abstract, oil on canvas, 21 1/4 x 40 3/4 inches, 1961, framed in natural pine.
St. Louis Connections:
- Illustrator and painter, Smith was born in Canton, Ohio and was a registered nurse teaching in Cleveland before serving 4 years in South Pacific in U.S. Army Nurse Corps during World War II.
- Studied at University of Melbourne, Australia, and earned a B.F.A. and M.A. from Washington University.Member: St. Louis Artists Guild, Archaeology Assn. of America, Oriental Archaeology Society, International Institute Arts and Letters (Fellow), Illinois Art Education Assn.
- Exhibitions: St. Louis Artists’ Guild, Saint Louis Art Museum, religious art exhibits in St. Louis, Seattle, and various seminaries throughout the U.S. Smith received awards in botanical and medical illustrations too. She was a medical illustrator at SLU Medical Center (1961-65), and in Dept. of Ophthalmology at Washington University (1964-68).
- Teaching: Villa Duchesne (1953-56), Maryville College (now University) (1958-60), Yale (1960), Harvard (1961-68), Southern Illinois University, 1968.
Charles Quest (1904-1993), Nude Girl, aquatint on wove paper, 19 3/4 x 16 3/8 inches, circa 1945, framed in solid walnut.
St. Louis Connections:
- Grew up in St. Louis, attended Washington University, 1924-1929.
- Member: St. Louis Artists’ Guild, Group 15, Painters Gallery, Academy of Professional Artists.
- Exhibited: Saint Louis Art Museum. Works purchased by SLAM and Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum.
- Altar painting commissioned for Trinity Episcopal Church, 600 N. Euclid.
- Altar painting commissioned for Old Cathedral St. Louis on the Riverfront.
- Teaching: 1929-1944 St. Louis Public Schools, 1944-1970s Washington University.
John Wehmer (1927-2019), Cave Canon (Beware of the Dog), color woodblock on rice paper, 19 1/2 x 22 3/8 inches, framed in solid walnut.
St. Louis Connections:
- Born and raised in Normandy, MO, served in Navy in World War II.
- Education: University of Missouri, Columbia (1946), Washington University (1947-1951), Master of Fine Arts, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champagne (1959)
- Member: People’s Art Center (Program Director)
- Exhibited; City Art Museum (now Saint Louis Art Museum), Lindenwood College ( University), Painters Gallery, People’s Art Center, Webster College (University), Arts & Education Council Greater St. Louis, John Burroughs School.
- Teaching: One Room School House in Washington, MO (1950s), Lindenwood University Art Department (1959-1992)
Walker-Cunningham Fine Art, 4814 Washington Ave., Ste. 140, is open by appointment. Contact Sarah Cunningham by email: [email protected], or (617) 448-1428. You can also view the exhibition online. Mid-Century St. Louis will remain on view until the end of March.