Last week some friends and I visited the recently renovated Saint Louis Art Museum. I hadn't been to the museum in a few years, so I was looking forward to the trip.For me, the apotheosis of St. Louis (Charles Niehaus, 1903) standing in front of the museum symbolizes St. Louis, even more than the Gateway Arch.
As a child I recall taking field trips to the museum and being amazed at the statue of St. Louis mounted on his horse and holding a huge sword.
The day of my recent visit was unseasonably mild for mid-August. Our group from St. Charles arrived early and got a primo parking place before meeting up with the North County, South County, and Illinois ladies. We were in the first tour group, which began at 10:30 a.m. Barbara, our docent, did an excellent job pointing out noteworthy pieces in the renovated section of the museum, along with some of her favorites.
One of the highlights of the tour was our walk-around outside the museum, with a visit to Goldsworthy's Stone Sea and Yoko Ono's Wish Tree for St. Louis. The St. Louis Wish Tree is actually three Japanese maples. The photo on the left explains the significance of the wish tree to Yoko Ono.
After hearing about the project, we were invited to write our wishes on a tag and tie them to one of the trees.
As I searched for just the right spot to tie my tag to a branch, I couldn't help reading a few wishes nearby.
Several included good health and world peace. One person wanted a Samsung Galaxy.
My sister Kathleen spotted a request for a pink bunny. Hmmm. Wonder if that one will come true.
After our guided tour, we separated and did a self-tour before lunch. With limited time I didn't get to take in all of the amazing artwork, but I did get to view several major pieces.
Although I didn't add this to the Japanese maple trees, one of my wishes is to return to the Saint Louis Art Museum soon.
To learn more about the Saint Louis Art Museum and Yoko Ono's Wish Tree, visit their website.
