Journey Through the Lens: Artists Captured by the Call of the Open Road

ST. LOUIS, Jan. 21, 2025—The camera and the automobile have transformed contemporary life in America and have been linked since their inception. A photography exhibition set for spring 2025 at the Saint Louis Art Museum showcases works by artists significantly influenced by motoring journeys in the 20th and early 21st centuries, delving into how the vehicle and the highway shaped the photographers’ experiences.

“In Search of America: Photography and the Road Trip” displays over 100 pieces, with approximately half sourced from SLAM’s collection. The complimentary exhibition commences on May 2 at SLAM and will be on view until Nov. 2 in Gallery 235 and Sidney S. and Sadie M. Cohen Gallery 234.

Documentary works from the Depression era, artifacts of roadside culture, and a fascination with the Southwestern desert prominently feature. Notable photographers showcased comprise Walker Evans, Dorothea Lange, Edward Weston, Robert Frank, and Lee Friedlander. Contemporary pieces by Catherine Opie, Paul Graham, and Kelli Connell illustrate the continual significance and intrigue surrounding road trips. Vernacular photographs and photobooks—crucial extensions of how travels were recorded and disseminated—will also be exhibited.

The exhibition also presents a considerable collection of works by Emil Otto Hoppé, whose travels in 1926 produced the most extensive illustrated volume on the American landscape thus far. Hoppé captured all corners of the nation and much in between—from the gritty steel factories of the East to the scenic desert vistas of the Southwest—visiting over 120 cities and picturesque regions. This marks the first museum showing of works from Hoppé’s series since its completion nearly a century ago, offering a stunning depiction of the United States at a significant juncture in its history.

“In Search of America” is curated by Eric Lutz, associate curator of prints, drawings, and photographs. It will comprise a series of related programming including film and music.

CONTACT: Molly Morris, 314.655.5250, molly.morris@slam.org