Art and educational exhibitions illustrate transformative moments in Missouri and U.S. history. The State Historical Society of Missouri houses exhibition galleries at the Center for Missouri Studies in Columbia. SHSMO also provides materials for display in galleries and exhibition spaces across the state.
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American illustrator, artist, and writer Rose O’Neill (creator of the Kewpie comic character) and Boone County artist and illustrator Gladys Wheat were two extraordinary women artist illustrators who spent a significant part of their creative lives in Missouri. During the early 20th century, both overcame the pervasive sexism of their era, helping to pave the way for the success of today’s talented women artists.
Coming in 2026 to a location near you! SHSMO’s new traveling exhibition, Missouri’s Main Street: 100 Years of Route 66 will spend a month at different locations near the historic road in Missouri. In addition, it will make some appearances at special events like the Route 66 National Kickoff in Springfield and the Missouri State Fair.
![W[A]RN and TRANSFORMED: Uniforms as Stories of U.S.](/sites/default/files/styles/square_thumbnail/public/2026-01/warn_1.jpg?h=97b33478&itok=neXckLbj "W[A]RN and TRANSFORMED: Uniforms as Stories of U.S.")
In commemoration of the 250th anniversary of the United States, a new exhibition is represented through stories and experiences woven within the fibers of the American military uniform. W[A]RN and TRANSFORMED: Uniforms as Stories of U.S. is a collaboration with the State Historical Society of Missouri and the Missouri Historic Costume and Textile Collection at the University of Missouri.
Join the State Historical Society of Missouri as we begin our year-long celebration of the centennial of the legendary Route 66! Missouri comprises just over 300 of the more than 2000 miles of historic Route 66. As the birthplace of the iconic highway, however, Missouri's contributions to the road’s development and history far surpass its size.
Water structures human life—nurturing crops and commerce, while sometimes unleashing deadly, storms, currents, and floods. In Missouri, the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers serve as vital trade arteries for the entire nation. This exhibition examines artworks by George Caleb Bingham and Thomas Hart Benton that celebrate the economic vitality of Missouri’s waterways but also suggest that the federal government can play a role in regulating them for the benefit of the American people.
Our gallery space includes a permanent exhibition of ten large World War II paintings created by Thomas Hart Benton between 1941 and 1943. These images reflect the anxiety, horror, grief, and resolve that Benton and his audience experienced after the U.S. entered WW II on December 7, 1941. Benton responded to the national crisis with a series of nightmarish visions of war, eight of which were purchased by Abbott Laboratories and exhibited in New York City in 1942.
Our permanent exhibition of works by George Caleb Bingham includes the monumental 1869/70 Civil War painting, Gen. Order No. 11, which represents the execution of a military directive evacuating civilians in four Missouri border counties.
Greta Kempton's Portrait of the Truman Family (President Harry S. Truman, Elizabeth “Bess” Truman and their daughter Mary Margaret) is on permanent exhibition at SHSMO. The triple portrait was commissioned for the State Historical Society of Missouri with left-over funds raised by Missouri Democrats for Truman’s 1948 inaugural celebration. The painting was officially presented to the Society in 1952.
