Thomas Cole's Voyage of Life

When: Tuesdays-Thursdays, Saturdays, Sundays, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. and Fridays, 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Continues through Sept. 20 2015

Fashions in art, like fashions in anything, are fickle -- so it's usually best to pay them no mind. For instance, in John Constable's lifetime he was openly ridiculed for the perceived aesthetic faux pas of painting humble rural scenes. A similar dismal misapprehension of real talent befell Thomas Cole, titan of unrepentant landscape studies and the founder of the Hudson River School. Thomas Cole'sVoyage of Life showcases the four paintings that comprise his famous allegorical depiction of a man's life from boyhood to old age; related preparatory oil studies of the outsized canvases are included in the exhibit.

Tue.-Sun. (Feb. 7-Sept. 20). Saint Louis Art Museum in Forest Park (314-721-0072 or www.slam.org). Free admission.

— Alex Weir