Show-Me State Times

The Saint Louis Art Museum will host a photography exhibition titled "In Search of America: Photography and the Road Trip" from May 2 to November 2, 2025. The exhibition will explore how artists have been influenced by car travel in the 20th and early 21st centuries, examining the relationship between automobiles, roads, and photographic discovery.

The exhibition will showcase over 100 works, with about half sourced from the museum's collection. It will be displayed in Gallery 235 and Sidney S. and Sadie M. Cohen Gallery 234. Admission is free.

Featured photographers include Walker Evans, Dorothea Lange, Edward Weston, Robert Frank, and Lee Friedlander. The exhibit also includes more contemporary work by Catherine Opie, Paul Graham, and Kelli Connell. Additionally, vernacular snapshots and photobooks that document road trips will be on display.

A notable inclusion is a significant body of work by Emil Otto Hoppé from his travels in 1926. His series offers a comprehensive view of the American landscape at that time. This marks the first museum presentation of Hoppé’s series since its completion nearly a century ago.

Eric Lutz, associate curator of prints, drawings, and photographs at SLAM, curated "In Search of America." The exhibition will be accompanied by related programming including film screenings and music events.