Central Library

"The County Election" was an oil painting created by Missouri artist George Caleb Bingham in 1852. This work depicts the civilian experience of democracy with a critique of the developing political system, a theme frequented by Bingham throughout his career. Accordingly, the civilians gathered in this work do so around...

This print depicts the Lewis and Clark Expedition heading out on their journey west. There are three boats in view with the foremost occupied by Lewis and Clark themselves. They stand beneath a canopy pointing downriver while a crew of men powers the boat in that direction by rowing. Flags from the Early American colon...

As documented in the historical account from the Missouri Valley Special Collections at the Kansas City Public Library, The town of Westport, in 1838, stood near the western edge of the American frontier and served as a disembarking point for traders following the Santa Fe Trail to present-day New Mexico, then a part...

Ilus W. Davis served as the mayor of Kansas City from 1963 to 1971. He was one of the first students to attend the city's university, which would later become the University of Missouri-Kansas City, and later got his law degree from the University of Missouri in Columbia. Some of his major contributions as mayor includ...

This painting reproduction depicts an infused scene of bright floral and green topiary. The original work was painted in an impressionistic style, filling the canvas with different flowers and greenery. One can imagine Coreopsis, Gladiolus, Pansies, Poppies, and different spring time perennials amidst a lush green l...

Thomas Hart Benton was at the forefront of Regionalist art movement. Benton's paintings portrayed a fluid motion to both landscape and sculpted figures, capturing every day scenes in his North American visual narratives. Benton was born on 1889 in Neosho, Missouri, and spent much of his adolescence in this state. T...

This bookcase stands tall with varying cabinet spaces and ornate carving detail. The lower third of the piece is a cabinet space enclosed by wooden doors. Thin oval wreaths adorn each of the doors. Above these doors are two drawers decorated with a simple swag. The upper portion of this piece is a three-shelved bookcas...

This bookcase stands tall with varying cabinet spaces and ornate carving detail. The lower third of the piece is a cabinet space enclosed by wooden doors. Thin oval wreaths adorn each of the doors. Above these doors are two drawers decorated with a simple swag. The upper portion of this piece is a three-shelved bookcas...

This bookcase stands tall with varying cabinet spaces and ornate carving detail. The lower third of the piece is a cabinet space enclosed by wooden doors. Thin oval wreaths adorn each of the doors. Above these doors are two drawers decorated with a simple swag. The upper portion of this piece is a three-shelved bookcas...

This bookcase stands tall with varying cabinet spaces and ornate carving detail. The lower third of the piece is a cabinet space enclosed by wooden doors. Thin oval wreaths adorn each of the doors. Above these doors are two drawers decorated with a simple swag. The upper portion of this piece is a three-shelved bookcas...