Share on LinkedIn

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (KY3) - You could spend hours, probably days inside the Springfield Art Museum and still not see everything.

“Depending on the time of year you come, you can see anywhere between three and five different exhibitions happening,” said Joshua Best, Museum Affairs Officer at the Springfield Art Museum.

One of the first exhibits you see when entering the museum is from an Arkansas-based artist, Linda Lopez. She’s just one of many local artists featured in the museum

“It’s important for us to be able to show a range of work,” said Best. “It’s a great thing to be able to come to your local art museum and see something you would normally have to travel three or our hours to see something at a larger museum.”

Hanging among work from world-famous artists like Jackson Pollock, are works of art showing the early days of Springfield.

“The museum was founded in 1928 and that was before there was a history museum and that was a lot of what the museum collected early on,” said Best. “One is the Springfield Landscape, which is the earliest known painting. the earliest one that we can date and know of.”

Best said they want to encourage artists of all ages with a space that is designed especially for kids.

“Art museums can be difficult for families with young children because a lot of artwrok isn’t intended to be touched,” said Best. “So the Family Art Lab is a great place to go experiment with some of the materials that are used to creat things that hang on the walls in the art museum.”

Best said their museum is place for people with all interest levels in art.

“I mean, art does a lot of things and it does a lot of things for different people but one ting it can do is connect us all,” said Best. “You don’t have to know a lot about art history to stand in front of a painting and feel something. We want to make sure that viewers from 100-200 years from now have a place to come look at these beueatiful things.”

The Springfield Art Museum is free to the public and open Tuesday through Sunday. With their art classes on hold due to the pandemic, they are offering free take-home art kids, inspired by artists in the gallery. The Family Art Lab must be reserved in advance due to social distancing, you can do that here.

To report a correction or typo, please email digitalnews@ky3.com