Current Shows

Victorian Photographs of Rural England: Benjamin Brecknell TurnerThe title sounds about as exciting as clotted cream, but the exhibition is actually quite lovely. Working in England in the mid-19th century, Turner used Henry Fox Talbot's calotype method to produce a paper negative and a contact-printed positive, resulting in softly toned, gloriously detailed images. On view are dozens of images from Turner's Photographic Views From Nature (1852-54), including views of the Crystal Palace, his family's property at Bredicot Court and utterly romantic scenes of Gothic ruins and windmills. Through February 6 at the Saint Louis Art Museum, 1 Fine Arts Drive; 314-721-0072. Museum hours 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tue.-Sun. (open Fri. till 9 p.m.). -- Ivy Cooper