Past Exhibitions
Coming Home
Post-war posters, letters, insignia and more spark a discussion about the transition of servicemen and women from war-time duty to civilian life.
Panthéon de la Guerre
Trace the history of the famous mural housed in Memory Hall through photographs, video and original wartime paintings.
WWI All-Stars
Discover the important role of sports in the lives of servicemen during the First World War.
Harmonies of the Homefront
Explore how the music of the Great War era acted as a unifying force by supporting patriotic engagement with the war effort at home and rallying the troops abroad. Experience the era through musical artifacts including sheet music covers, lyrics, recordings, pictures of music-making and the sounds of the music itself.
Road to War
View the inaugural Centennial special exhibition exploring the pivotal world events that led to World War I. The Road to War explores European colonialism, American imperialism, the Balkans Wars, the rise of nationalism and cultural awareness, and the social divides which led to unrest and revolt against the imperial monarchies.
Images of the Great War: European Offensives 1914-1916
World War I brought radical changes in society, art and culture. These shifts were reflected in the art of the time, with works produced ranging from those reminiscent of the 19th century pictorial style to art that reflected the modern and abstract revolution. Images of the Great War: European Offensives 1914-1916 focuses on the art and events of the first two years of the Great War featuring artists from eight different countries.
Rearranging History: Daniel MacMorris and the Panthéon de la Guerre
What happened to the world's largest painting? Kansas City artist Daniel MacMorris helped the Museum and Memorial acquire the Panthéon de la Guerre in 1956. He then cut and pasted sections from the huge canvas, rearranged them, painted in new individuals and fit the newly configured composition to the north wall of Memory Hall, where it remains today. The exhibition explores the vast fragments left behind by MacMorris – the majority having never been seen in public since the Panthéon's last showing in its entirety in 1940.
Lest We Forget
For this deeply moving exhibition, German-Italian photographer and filmmaker Luigi Toscano visited and took portraits of almost 400 Holocaust survivors in the United States, Germany, Ukraine, Russia, Israel, Belarus, Austria and the Netherlands. In Lest We Forget, 70 of those photographs are presented outdoors as large-scale portraits, seven of which feature Kansas City-area Holocaust survivors. Exhibition open Sept. 20 – Oct. 6, 2019 on the Memorial Courtyard. Abbreviated version continues on display through Oct. 20.