Missouri Wall Art

Missouri Wall Art

Missouri wall art covers two cities and the state's own emblems. St Louis appears with the Gateway Arch and its skyline at dusk, Kansas City with its skyline and the Country Club Plaza under Christmas lights, and the rest of the range is the state flag, the seal and the capitol.

Half Of This Range Is Civic, Not Scenic

That makes it an unusual state collection. A mountain or coastal range is bought for the view; a good part of this one is bought for what it stands for. The two halves do different jobs on a wall and rarely sit well together, so it is worth deciding which you are shopping for before you scroll.

The Gateway Arch Is The One Shape Everyone Knows

Eero Saarinen's arch was completed in 1965, stands 630 feet high and is exactly as wide at its base as it is tall, which is why it photographs as a true curve from almost any angle. Stainless steel takes the color of whatever surrounds it, so the same monument reads silver at midday, gold at sunset and blue at dusk.

The Reflection Pictures Are The Strongest

Shot from the riverfront at dusk, the curve repeats in the water and the composition becomes symmetrical. That is a calm, balanced arrangement, and it suits a centered position above a console, a bed or a fireplace where the symmetry of the wall can answer the symmetry of the picture.

Kansas City And The Plaza Lights

The Country Club Plaza has been outlined in lights every Christmas since 1930, and the photographs show Spanish revival towers and tiled roofs traced in warm bulbs against a dark sky. It is a seasonal subject that stays up well, because the architecture carries the picture even when the lights read as decoration rather than as an occasion. The Kansas City skyline pieces are more conventional and sit alongside the St Louis ones.

Flag, Seal And Capitol

The Missouri flag carries the state seal with its two grizzly bears, and it appears both flat and waving. The capitol building and its dome at Jefferson City complete the civic group. These are identity pieces for an office, a study or a gift to someone who left the state, and they are not decor choices in the way a skyline is.

What Size Suits Missouri Wall Art

Both skylines and the Plaza are horizontal subjects that want a wide canvas, about two thirds of the width of the furniture below. The arch is the exception. Because it is as tall as it is wide, a square or vertical crop keeps the whole curve instead of stranding it in empty sky.

Layouts For Every Artwork Shape

Panoramic suits the two skylines. A single square or vertical canvas suits the arch. The Plaza pictures work either way, since the towers repeat along the frame. A multi panel set works on a skyline where the gaps fall between buildings, and works poorly on the arch, where a gap would cut the curve.

Which Rooms Suit These

Dusk and night pictures need a wall that gets some light. On a dark wall the black areas flatten and the lit detail, which is the whole subject of a Christmas lights picture, stops reading from across the room. The arch at sunset is the warmest piece here and the easiest in a living room; the civic pieces belong in a study or an office.

Common Mistakes With Monument Pictures

The first is cropping thinking: buying a wide canvas for the arch, which leaves it small in the middle of a lot of sky. The second is mixing a flag piece and a skyline on the same wall, which reads as two unrelated statements. The third is hanging a lights picture where daylight falls directly on it, washing out the one thing it is about.

Pairings And Nearby Collections

For other skylines see city wall art, for monuments elsewhere see landmark wall art, and for the emblem pieces see flag wall art.

How Each Canvas Is Made

Every piece is printed to order on museum quality canvas with archival inks that resist fading, stretched over a solid wooden inner frame and shipped ready to hang, with free shipping.

Common Questions

What subjects appear in this collection?

The Gateway Arch and the St Louis skyline at dusk, the Kansas City skyline and the Country Club Plaza under Christmas lights, and the Missouri state flag, seal and capitol dome at Jefferson City.

What size canvas suits the Gateway Arch?

A square or vertical crop. The arch is as wide at its base as it is tall, so a wide canvas leaves it small in the middle of empty sky. Keep the whole curve in the frame and hang it centered.

Do the Plaza Christmas light pictures work all year?

They do, because the Spanish revival architecture carries the picture on its own. Outside December the lights read as warm decoration on a building rather than as a seasonal marker, which is why they stay up better than most holiday subjects.

Which room suits a Missouri canvas?

A living room for the arch at sunset, which is the warmest piece here. A study or office for the flag, seal and capitol, which are identity pieces. Any dusk or night picture needs a wall with light on it.

Are these canvases ready to hang?

Yes. Each is printed to order, stretched over a solid wooden inner frame and shipped ready to hang, with free shipping. The inks are archival and resist fading.