The Sheldon Art Galleries, located in the Emerson Galleries building, features rotating exhibits in six galleries, including photography, architecture, St. Louis artists and collections, jazz history and children's art. Artwork is also featured in The Sheldon's sculpture garden, visible from both the atrium lobby and the connecting glass bridge. Gallery Hours: Tuesdays & Thursdays, 12 noon – 8 p.m.; Wednesdays & Fridays, 12 noon – 5 p.m.; Saturdays, 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. and one hour prior to Sheldon performances and during intermission. Closed July 4th, Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and New Year's Day.

Bellwether Gallery of St. Louis Artists

Mike Peters, Grimmy, of the beloved comic strip Mother Goose and Grimm, and the Post-Dispatch Weatherbird enjoy some sunny skies together, 2001, © The St. Louis Post Dispatch. See You in the Funny Papers: The Rich Tradition of St. Louis Cartooning May 17 – August 30, 2008 Curated by Dan Martin, designer and illustrator for the St. Louis Post Dispatch, See You in the Funny Papers features over 40 original cartoons by renowned St. Louis area artists. The exhibition chronicles the history of cartooning in the St. Louis area from its historically obscure foundations to legendary works of Amadee Wohlschlaeger, Lee Falk who created "The Phantom" and "Mandrake the Magician," Clare Briggs, Phil Davis, Clare Victor "Dwig" Dwiggins, Daniel Fitzpatrick, Al Hirschfeld, Joseph Keppler, S. Carlisle Martin, George McManus, Harry Tuthill, Mort Walker, and Murat "Chic" Young of "Blondie" fame. Also included is work by the African-American illustrator, Elmer Simms Campbell, whose humorous illustrations were published in Esquire, Playboy, Cosmopolitan, Saturday Evening Post, Redbook, the New Yorker, Opportunity, and syndicated to 145 nationwide newspapers. St. Louis Walk of Fame member the late, great Al Hirschfeld, who is considered one of the worlds's greatest caricaturists, is represented in the exhibition by a self-caricature. The exhibit also features works by some of today's most popular cartoonists like Mike Peters of Mother Goose and Grimm fame and Mary Engelbreit. With her creative illustrations and cartoons reproduced in almost countless forms, Mary Engelbreit's artwork is beloved around the world, but St. Louis is still home to her and her company. Other contemporary illustrators like Kevin Belford, Glenn and Gary McCoy, and Dan Zettwoch, among many others, are also represented. All of the artists included in the exhibition and book are either born in or have lived and worked in the St. Louis region. This exhibition is made possible in part by an anonymous donor and Mort Walker. Gallery Talk and Booksigning: Saturday, May 31 at 11:00 a.m.: Dan Martin, exhibition curator, discusses the history of cartooning in St. Louis, and will sign copies of the book See You in the Funny Papers: The Rich Tradition of St. Louis Cartooning (Reedy Press, 2008). Bellwether Gallery of St. Louis Artists, Admission Free. Opening Reception: Friday, May 16, 5 – 7 p.m.

History of Jazz Gallery

Herb Snitzer, Lester Young, Five Spot Café, New York City, 1958, gelatin silver print, 14x11 inches, courtesy of the artist Herb Snitzer: Photographs from the Last Years of Metronome, 1958-1962 May 17 – September 20, 2008 Curated by historian Benjamin Cawthra, this exhibition shines a spotlight on the photography of internationally recognized photographer Herb Snitzer when he worked for Metronome, one of the country's leading jazz magazines. Photographed during a remarkable period in jazz, these historic images also capture the vibrancy of New York in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Herb Snitzer's career covers over 45 years of image-making. He worked for Life, Look, The Saturday Evening Post, Fortune, Time and other national magazines as well as for the New York Times and Herald Tribune. After freelancing for Metronome during his first years in New York, Snitzer became first photography and then Associate Editor of the magazine in 1960. He met, photographed and befriended many of the great jazz musicians of that era, including Miles Davis, Nina Simone, Duke Ellington, John Coltrane, Count Basie, and many others. Snitzer's work can be found in many public and private collections including the Museum of Modern Art, The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston and Boston Museum of African American History, and in the private collections of Elton John, Bill Cosby, and Bill and Hillary Clinton, among many others. He lives and works in St. Petersburg, Florida where he runs a studio at Salt Creek Artworks. A catalogue published by the Sheldon Art Galleries with an essay by Benjamin Cawthra accompanies the exhibition. Gallery Talk and Book Signing Friday May 16, 7 -8 p.m., immediately following the opening reception, History of Jazz Gallery. Join us for a lively gallery talk with photographer Herb Snitzer and exhibition curator and historian Benjamin Cawthra, as they discuss Snitzer's experiences working for Metronome magazine. Admission free. Click here to order a copy of the book Opening Reception: Friday, May 16, 5 – 7 p.m.

Gallery of Photography

Clifford Martin, Crash Landing off Luzon, 1945, gelatin silver print 8 x 10 inches, Official U.S. Navy Photograph, courtesy of the photographer. Clifford R. Martin: Navy Photographer May 17 – August 23, 2008 Born in 1920 in St. Louis, Missouri, Clifford "Marty" Martin worked for, and later owned Todd Studios in St. Louis's Grand Center theater district after World War II. During World War II, Martin served in the Pacific Theatre and worked as a combat photographer for the United States Navy, where he also served as Admiral Nimitz's personal photographer. Martin completed two tours of duty in the Navy from 1942 through the Korean War, and the photographs he made there reveal a Navy sailor's war story, capturing the mundanity of daily wartime life as well as moments of terror, horror and drama. Always in the thick of the action, Martin photographed men on the decks of flight carriers, bombing missions, beach invasions and battles, including Iwo Jima. Martin also photographed carrier crash landings, funerals and burials at sea, as well as VIP inspections, military award ceremonies, USO tours, celebrity and presidential visits, and important surrender ceremonies, including the most famous ceremony on the Battleship Missouri in Tokyo Bay. Clifford Martin is retired and lives in Atlanta, Georgia. This exhibition is made possible by Ellen Curlee. Opening Reception: Friday, May 16, 5 – 7 p.m.

Bernoudy Gallery of Architecture

Conceptual rendering of the Ville Marketplace, from the project Greening the Ville: A Community Market Design Collaboration with Don Koster. Seven Veils for St. Louis: An Inquiry Into Novel Brick Fabrications by Jen Maigret. Weese Fellows Exhibit 2008: Don Koster and Jen Maigret April 19 – September 6, 2008 In collaboration with the School of Architecture at Washington University in St. Louis, this exhibition features projects completed by the two 2007-2008 Cynthia Weese Teaching Fellows, Don Koster and Jen Maigret. The Weese Fellowship is a two-year program offered by the College of Architecture and the Graduate School of Architecture & Urban Design, Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts, Washington University in St. Louis. It offers teaching and research opportunities for emerging practitioners in architecture. During his fellowship, Don Koster guided a student team working in collaboration with the AIA St. Louis and community leaders in the Ville Neighborhood to program and design a produce market and urban garden called the Ville Marketplace. Koster's presentation Greening the Ville: A Community Market Design Collaboration, examines the history, design, and process of this ambitious project and traces the evolution of this unique collaboration. Jen Maigret's presentation Seven Veils for St. Louis: Novel Fabrications in Brick uses advanced digital computing tools to examine the fabrication and assembly of bricks diverted from St. Louis's construction industry waste stream for new possibilities within architectural design. She considers the interplay between bricks and fabrics at multiple scales and creates bridges between digital and analog, innovation and tradition. Opening Reception: Friday, April 18, 5 – 7 p.m.

AT&T Gallery of Children’s Art

Kai-Ran Webb, Age 6, Dinosaur Book, 2007, paper, pen and scotch tape, approximate dimensions 1 1/2 x 2 inches.

Things that Matter: Art by Children with Autism
April 19 – September 13, 2008

This exhibition features art created by children with autism from St. Louis and the surrounding region. Coordinated by Bevin Early and Nancy Pierson, artists and educators who work with children with autism, the mission of this exhibition project is to offer children with ASD an opportunity to show their work publicly, develop identities as artists and educate the general community about autism. Autism is a complex neurobiological disorder that is associated with a range of developmental problems, mainly in communication and social interaction. Statistics put the approximate number of children with autism at 1 in 150. Artistic expression is known to have a profound effect on the health and well being of people with disabilities. Working with the basic philosophy that children with autism need opportunities to create, to develop their ideas, and to share those ideas with others, this exhibition showcases the fascinations and intense interests of these unique artists. It is a celebration of the Things that Matter. The works of art in the exhibition are available for sale and can be taken home after the exhibition ends. Proceeds of the sale of the artwork is given directly to the artists.

The exhibition is made possible by Elissa and Paul Cahn.

Opening Reception: Friday, April 18, 5 – 7 p.m.

Ronnie Farley, Tara working out with one of her cutting horses, c. 1993, gelatin silver print, 16 x 20 inches, courtesy of the artist.

Curated by Patricia O'Connor, a veteran gallery professional currently working for the New York State Council on the Arts and the Tri-County Arts Council, and toured by ExhibitsUSA, Cowgirls: Contemporary Portraits of the American West features 30 photographs by Ronnie Farley that explore the daily challenges, professional triumphs, and personal tenacity shared by the women who run cattle or ride broncs and bulls. From the competitive grit of the rodeo circuit and the exhausting demands of cattle ranching to the bond they share with their animals, modern cowgirls call to mind the independence, fortitude, and incomparable vigor demonstrated by women who endured the hardships and challenges of life on the American frontier. Farley spent three years documenting the lives of two very different kinds of cowgirls: women ranchers and rodeo contestants. From the high country of Wyoming to the national Professional Women's Rodeo circuit, the resulting black-and-white images capture the everyday reality and resolute strength of the women who call these settings home.

A program of Exhibits USA, a national division of Mid-America Arts Alliance, with the Missouri Arts Council and the National Endowment for the Arts.

The exhibition is made possible by Nancy and Kenneth Kranzberg.

Opening Reception: Friday, May 16, 5 – 7 p.m.

Jim Dine Sculpture

The Ann Lee and Wilfred Konneker Gallery at the Sheldon Art Galleries is the site for the Jim Dine sculpture, The Heart Called Orchid, 2003. The sculpture is dedicated to the life and accomplishments of Dr. Leigh Gerdine, a founding trustee of the Sheldon Arts Foundation who devoted himself to the saving and renovation of the historic Sheldon Concert Hall and the creation of the Sheldon Art Galleries.

A beautiful bronze work on long-term loan from the Gateway Foundation St. Louis, the sculpture is a glowing golden heart that balances on its point on a trompe d'oeil "wooden" pallet, which on further examination is seen also to be made of bronze. A recurring theme in Dine's work since 1966, the heart emerges in prints, drawings, paintings and sculptures.

Jim Dine was born in 1935 in Cincinnati, Ohio and rose to prominence in the 1960s with his performance and assemblage works. From the 1960s, Dine also began to incorporate representations of simple everyday objects into his works. His object-based imagery seen in paintings, drawings, prints and sculptures include tools, men's suits, bathrobes, hearts, and household objects among others and are metaphors for childhood memories, personal psychological states and self-portraits. Like Dine's suit and bathrobe images make reference to the artist's body and persona, his hearts contain layered metaphors about the body, sensuality, love, and as the artist describes them, he sees the heart as "the agent and the organ of my emotions."