A striking sampling of the Kemper Museum's most significant and influential modern paintings and sculptures is currently on view. Dating from the 1910s to the not-too-distant past, these works embody the history of formal and conceptual experimentation and aesthetic progress that helped shape the art world of today. It is against the achievements of Georgia O'Keeffe, Fairfield Porter, and others on view, that we measure today's artists. In doing so, we recognize the powerful influence the art of the past has had on that of the present.

Above: Morris Louis, Beth Rash, 1958–1959, acrylic resin on canvas, 98 1/2 x 141 3/4 inches, Bebe and Crosby Kemper Collection; Museum Purchase made possible by gifts from Bebe and Crosby Kemper and the William T. Kemper Charitable Trust, UMB Bank, n.a., Trustee, and by additional funds from the Enid and Crosby Kemper and William T. Kemper Acquisition Fund, 2002.30