Latest News & Announcements

New and Notable Art Exhibition Opens

New and Notable: A Selection of SHSMO Acquisitions from Recent Years presents a small portion of the hundreds of new artworks that the State Historical Society of Missouri has recently collected. As the Society celebrates its 125th birthday, this exhibition illustrates the institution’s ongoing commitment to acquire a wide variety of artworks that help to preserve the cultural heritage of the Show-Me State.

Former U.S. Senator Roy Blunt to Lead State Historical Society of Missouri

The State Historical Society of Missouri board of trustees has elected recently retired U.S. Senator Roy Blunt of Springfield as president of the State Historical Society for a three-year term. The former senior U.S. Senator from Missouri has served as a trustee of the Society since 2005. Blunt’s term as president follows that of Virginia Laas, a professor emerita of history at Missouri Southern State University in Joplin. Laas will continue to serve as a trustee of the Society.

History on Elm

History on Elm begins its fall season of free programs at noon on the second Tuesday of each month at the State Historical Society of Missouri. Programs are held September through June. Mark your calendar for our fall line-up!

Sept. 12 – Exploring Missouri’s German Heritage

Thomas Hart Benton Lithographs on Exhibition in Joplin; Curator Talk on Feb. 25

The complete collection of 91 Thomas Hart Benton Editioned Lithographs will be on exhibition at the George A. Spiva Center for the Arts as part of the opening celebration of the Harry M. Arts & Entertainment Cornell Complex in Joplin November 12, noon to 5 p.m. Visitors can see the exhibition, on loan from the State Historical Society of Missouri, until March 5, 2023. 

Film Screening Featuring 100th Anniversary T. S. Eliot’s “The Wasteland”

Students, scholars and the mid-Missouri community will come together Nov. 3 to celebrate the centennial of T. S. Eliot’s poem The Waste Land. Born and raised in St. Louis, Eliot went on to become an international literary figure and Nobel Prize winner. One hundred years after the publication of his most famous poem, a new BBC documentary reveals the secret love story behind his poem of personal anguish and alienation.

Author Larry Gragg to Explore Impacts of Desegregation in Missouri Higher Education

The State Historical Society of Missouri announces that Larry Gragg, author and Professor Emeritus of History at Missouri University of Science and Technology, will be presenting a program that examines the impacts of desegregation in Missouri higher education on Wednesday, November 2, 6 p.m., at the Center for Missouri Studies, 605 Elm Street, Columbia.