The State Historical Society of Missouri

The State Historical Society of Missouri has received a grant of $10,000 from the Missouri Humanities Council for its Missouri History Speakers’ Bureau.  The grant allows the Speakers’ Bureau—currently offering 50 professional speakers on 75 historical topics—to schedule 33 programs for adult, nonprofit groups throughout the state at no cost to host organizations.  These programs explore the critical role of Missouri and Missourians in the panorama of American history, challenge myths and stereotypes, build bridges of understanding among diverse peoples, and offer a more inclusive history for the citizens of the state. 

            The Missouri History Speakers’ Bureau seeks to inform and entertain, believing that knowledge and understanding of the past build the foundation for the future.  As the crossroads of America, Missouri has been both cauldron and catalyst, frequently at the heart of conflict and compromise.  Missourians opened the westward trails, stoked the battles to expand or end slavery, and experienced changing social and political landscapes due to the influence of multiple immigrant waves. 

The Society has assembled an impressive Speakers’ Bureau of distinguished university professors, award-winning authors, preservationists, and independent scholars.  Their historical presentations, based on primary source materials, feature topics including war, ethnicity, and civil liberties from Dred Scott to World War II; the role of education in societal change; art and culture from soaring monuments like the Gateway Arch and the Liberty Memorial to personal art in cemeteries and the popular art of Walt Disney; everyday life and leisure; the transportation revolutions; famous and infamous Missourians; the journeys of Lewis and Clark; and the Civil War.

To schedule a speaker or for further information, contact Todd Christine at The State Historical Society of Missouri, (573) 882-7083 or ChristineT@umsystem.edu, or visit the Society’s Web site, http://shs.umsystem.edu/speakersbureau/.

About the Missouri Humanities Council

The Missouri Humanities Council is the only statewide agency in Missouri devoted exclusively to humanities education for citizens of all ages.  It has served as a state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities since 1971.  The humanities are fields of study concerned with human cultures, values, and ideas and include history, literature, philosophy, languages, comparative religion, anthropology, archaeology, and jurisprudence.

For more information about the grants program of the Missouri Humanities Council, call (314) 781-9660 or (800) 357-0909 or write to the MHC, 543 Hanley Industrial Court, Suite 205, St. Louis, MO 63144-1905.

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The vibrant colors and intriguing perspectives of nationally known watercolorist Keith Crown will be on display in the Main Gallery of The State Historical Society of Missouri beginning on February 6, 2009, in Keith Crown: A Retrospective.  The exhibit will feature works from the Society’s collection, the artist’s personal holdings, and those held by private collectors in celebration of Crown’s 90th birthday.

            A Retrospective will showcase the art of a man who has called Columbia home for 25 years: works of oil, watercolor, and painted ceramics.  After earning degrees from the Art Institute of Chicago and serving in World War II, Crown taught art at the University of Southern California for 37 years, served as president of the National Watercolor Society, and helped found the Los Angeles chapter of Artist’s Equity.  He received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Watercolor USA Honor Society in 2003.  Crown’s work hangs in museums and art centers across the country.  He has been the subject of a biography, Keith Crown Watercolors, by Sheldon Reich, and his paintings and influences have been discussed by many authors during his career.

            “Like the American landscape painters John Marin and Charles Burchfield,” Crown said, “I try to make visible the invisible elements of nature: various wind, moisture, temperature, odors and sounds that are specific to a particular place at a particular time.”

Keith Crown: A Retrospective will be on display through June 6, 2009.  The State Historical Society of Missouri is located in Ellis Library at the intersection of Hitt Street and Lowry Mall on the University of Missouri campus, with parking available in three nearby garages.

The State Historical Society of Missouri’s MoHiP Theatre will present Song of the Middle River on February 6 in Boonville’s Thespian Hall. The play, performed as reader’s theatre, tells the story of Celia, a teenage slave from Callaway County who killed her master after suffering five years of sexual abuse. Song focuses on the days leading up to the killing, confronting the moral dilemmas surrounding slavery and the tragic circumstances of those forced to endure it.

Written by Thomas D. Pawley III, professor emeritus at Lincoln University, and directed by MU George Washington Carver Fellow cfrancis blackchild, Song of the Middle River features a cast including University of Missouri Department of Theatre chair Clyde Ruffin. Boonville musicians Cathy Barton and Dave Para will perform hymns and spirituals of the era beginning at 6:30 p.m. with the play starting at 7:00 p.m. Due to its content, this performance is for mature audiences.

Tickets will be available at the door for $5.00. Tickets can also be purchased in advance with a credit card by calling 660-882-7977, or toll free 1-888-588-1477. Tickets will be held at the box office. For more information, call The State Historical Society of Missouri at (573) 882-2476.