Kristin Schwain: "Placemaking: Missouri: Heart of the Nation Art Collection

In 1946, the Scruggs-Vandervoort-Barney department store in St. Louis commissioned fourteen modern artists to “depict for Missouri, and the rest of the world, the charm, the strength, the beauty, the way-of-life of our mid-western Missouri of today.” The ninety-eight paintings and drawings feature scenes of rural and urban life, agricultural and industrial production, and folk life and mass entertainment. The Missouri: Heart of the Nation collection toured the state for two-and-a-half years; appeared in catalogs, advertisements, and other print materials; and eventually adorned Jesse Hall, the administrative center of the University of Missouri. The paintings became part of the university’s art collection in 2014 and remained in storage until an exhibition of the oil paintings at the Boone County History and Culture Center two years ago.