A Day with Vincent van Gogh

by Katie Shannon

The Arts Council of Southeast Missouri is proud to offer everyone the chance of a lifetime to see the actual works of Vincent van Gogh. You may have already heard about the Vincent van Gogh and the Painters of the Petit Boulevard exhibit showing at the St. Louis Art Museum, but may not have given thought about actually going to St. Louis to see it. Now is your chance. The Arts Council is offering the opportunity to spend a day dedicated to magnificent artists. The St. Louis Art Museum will be the only place in the United States that will show this exhibit. After that, the collection will return to Europe.

On April 21, the Arts Council will accommodate up to 50 people for a bus ride to St. Louis. Our first stop is the St. Louis Art Museum, where everyone will take an audio tour of the exhibit. The exhibition will feature the renowned Vincent van Gogh and other great artists such as Paul Gauguin, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Louis Anquetin, Camille and Lucien Pissarro, Emile Bernard and many others. Their works consist of landscapes, portraiture, scenes of Parisian nightlife, and views of urban scenes in France.

After seeing the exhibit, the bus will take the passengers to the Central West End, where everyone is welcome to treat themselves to a dinner in any of the restaurants there. Passengers will be provided with a map of the area so that they may easily find where they are going.

Then, everyone will hop back on the bus to visit the Missouri History Museum where they will view a performance entitled "Vincent." The script was written by Leonard Nimoy and consists of a one-man-show depicting the life and encounters of Vincent van Gogh. F. Reed Brown will portray the artist himself as well as van Gogh's brother, Theodore. Puck Pukas directs this unique production, which adds visual complements of the artist's work to set the stage.

Finally, everyone will enjoy a relaxing ride back to Cape Girardeau. Refreshments will be provided on the bus.

Tickets for this trip are $50 per person and $45 for members of the Arts Council of Southeast Missouri. "A Day with Vincent van Gogh" will begin when the bus leaves the Main Street parking lot in downtown Cape Girardeau at 12:30 p.m. There are a limited number of tickets, so call as soon as possible to reserve a space. For more information, call the Arts Council at (573) 334-9233. We hope to see you there!