Current Exhibits
Poems of Childhood
August 4 – 2023 – June 16, 2024
Come and explore Eugene Field’s most popular book of poetry, Poems of Childhood, in this dynamic exhibit that will spark the imagination and bring to life the words of Eugene Field’s famous poems. From the land of sugar-plum trees and magnificent creatures to the sweet tales of falling asleep, guests will take a journey into a land of creativity.
The Field House Museum is sponsoring Poems of Childhood in partnership with the Missouri Humanities Council and with support from the National Endowment for the Humanities.
The Power of the Press: The Newspaper World Eugene Field Inherited
April 21 – September 24, 2023
Mid-nineteenth century St. Louisans only had one place to turn to if they wanted to catch up on the latest local, national, and international news – the newspaper. Old-school St. Louis editors used their platforms to promote their personal politics, advocate for their favorite causes, and attack anyone who dared disagree with them. Visit the Eugene Field Library to learn how nineteenth-century newspapermen uplifted the city’s German population while they denounced the Irish, pushed for freeing the enslaved while promoting their expulsion from the country, and championed workers’ rights before turning their back on strikers – all while inspiring Eugene Field on his meteoric rise to fame.
Fielding the Question: Courtship, Matrimony and the Fields
October 13, 2023 – May 12, 2024
One hundred seventy-five years ago, Rosell Field and Frances Maria Reed exchanged marriage vows in St. Louis. One hundred fifty years ago, wedding bells rang for their son Eugene Field and Julia Comstock. The Field House Museum is pleased to celebrate these two unions with an exhibit, Fielding the Question: Courtship, Matrimony and the Fields. The exhibit highlights the courtship and marriage of the two couples and also illuminates the changing culture of courtship and marriage in the mid-1800s. Artifacts include Julia’s wedding dress and boots, Eugene and Julia’s wedding invitation, illustrated postcards of Eugene’s poem, “Lover’s Lane, St. Jo,” as well as a number of portraits of the couples.
Slavery in St. Louis
November 1 – 12, 2023
The famous Black abolitionist William Wells Brown once remarked that “no part of our slave-holding country is more noted for the barbarity of its inhabitants than St. Louis.” Slavery existed in St. Louis for 100 years while under French, Spanish, and American rule. Famous African-American civil rights leaders such as William Wells Brown, Dred and Harriet Scott, and James Milton Turner were once enslaved in St. Louis. Learn their stories and more in this traveling exhibit curated by the Ulysses S. Grant National Historic Site.
Denotes ADA accessible exhibits