Students in Ms. Saxton’s History Through Art elective class and Ms. Wynn’s AP Art History class took a trip to the St. Louis Art Museum on Tuesday April 17 to learn more about art created during the time periods they study in class.

The two groups separated for a guided tour of the museum, each looking at different exhibits relating to what they have seen in class.

Students in Saxton’s class learned about the three mummies on display and Ancient Egypt, as well as a few pieces of African Art. They then moved onto contemporary art, studying a piece by Picasso, and another, where they were asked to describe their five senses when looking at the painting.

Saxton decided to take students to the museum to give them a real-life look at art instead of screenshots on a PowerPoint. She also mentioned some students hadn’t been to the museum before, stating that she thinks it’s important for them to see it

“I think it’s really important for the students to actually see some of the stuff we’ve been talking about,” she said, “and having a docent-led tour, you can always learn something new from an expert.”

After the tour, the students were allowed to roam around by themselves and look at any gallery they wanted.

“My favorite piece was in the European art, called Suffer the Little Children to Come Unto Me,” senior Katrina Owen said. “I like the details and emotion in it.”

For lunch, the group went to Fitz’s in the Loop, where they enjoyed burgers, sandwiches, and chugging root beer and milkshakes.

“Seeing Clayton chug so many glasses of root beer was crazy. One second his glass was full, the next it was gone,” Owen said about junior Clayton Austin chugging nine glasses of root beer. “At one point, the server gave him the whole pitcher.”

Students had a great time talking with each other at the table, asking others what they should get from the many choices of burgers, shakes, and drinks.

“Treat yo’self!” Austin kept saying when people were deciding what to get.

Overall, the students learned a lot about different forms and styles of art throughout the day, which was the goal Saxton wished to accomplish with this field trip.

“I hoped they took something more away other than what we talk about in class,” she said. “Being able to see a painting in front of you is different than seeing it on a slide. [They] actually felt some emotion.”