cedarhurst center for the arts

This wonderful place grew out of the generosity of two Mt Vernon residents, John R. and Eleanor R. Mitchell who gave this small town a taste of art and the role it plays in all our lives. The facility itself is modern, with a great sense of space. It also houses a permanent collection as well as special exhibits. (There is a fee for entrance into the special exhibits, but all else is free). My grandson was captivated by the Beck Family Center, where there were a number of great art activities for little ones. The CedarHurst Sculpture Garden is wonderful, and outside in a park-like setting. They also have a great performing arts theater with view of the grounds. The facility can also be rented for special occasions. Concerts, films, classes and an annual craft fair are also part of their varied and interesting yearly calendar. I highly encourage everyone to visit CedarHurst and appreciate what has been done in this small community to keep art alive and well!!

We were there for a Rotary Convention dinner and had the opportunity to view the facility prior to the dinner. Not only was the dinner fantastic, the staff was great and the art collections were my personal favorites. Parking is great. Great find in the small city of Mt. Vernon. Almost as good as a museum in a large city. If you are traveling through definitely check out the events and special exhibits and plan it in your schedule. If visiting St. Louis worth the 1 hour trip to visit and check out Mr. Vernon.

Really had a blast looking at all the cool art. The kids and adults had hours of fun creating our own art in the interactive kids exhibit. 5 stars.

On a Monday night in early October we visited Mt. Vernon, Illinois en route to Alabama. We stayed at the Sidwell Friends B&B just a few blocks from Cedarhurst. The next morning we went to Cedarhurst and viewed a special quilt exhibit and the museum’s stunning permanent art collection with works by Mary Cassatt, Thomas Eakins, John Singer Sargent and more. Admission to Cedarhurst was free! If you’re in the area during museum hours, drop by for an hour of pure enjoyment.

I have not seen a museum of this quality outside of large cities. The sculpture garden is great with beautiful pieces in a serene setting. The permanent colection has some real gems and there have been some real great travelling collections.

We were here for the annual Cedarhurst Craft Fair. This is a superior fair that they put on each year that attracts many craftspeople. While we were there we also like to go into the museum and walk the grounds / trails to look at all the art and exhibits. If you get a chance to go to the fair it is highly recommended

We stopped at Cedarhurst on our way to Evansville, and were so glad that we did. The building itself is very striking, and the art inside is beautiful. We took a short walk outside also, where there is a nice little lake and many interesting sculptures. But the best part for us was the children's gallery, with plenty of interactive exhibits to keep little ones' interest. On the day that we visited we had the entire facility to ourselves which, although nice for us, led us to believe that there is potential for more people to discover this wonderful venue.

Fantastic venue, excellent exhibits and beautiful grounds. This has to be the best kept secret in Illinois and perhaps the entire Midwest. And, they only take donations.

We drove here (1hr. 45min) from St. Louis on the advice of friends and are glad we came. They have a nice collection of American art - mostly paintings) and an excellent exhibit of quilts plus a gallery set aside for local artists. They also have a large sculpture park containing an interesting collection of contemporary sculptures.This is a nice place for an easy daytrip from St. Louis or anywhere nearby. I don't think it is worth an overnight visit.

My husband and I attended a Summertime Thursday night event. Live music, quilt show and exhibition, tours, free admission and a complimentary tai chi class. Through the summer they have a variety of types of music and performers, classes (yoga, ballroom) and artisans. A really entertaining and classy event and venue, and it's every Thursday night. We enjoyed walking around the lake and grounds, afmiring the sculptures.

Cedarhurst has an amazing collection for a town this size, including originals by Mary Cassatt and John Singer Sergeant. As mentioned by a previous viewer, the marble statue which portrays a bride covering herself with fabric before first meeting her future husband is astounding in the technique which makes the fabric appear translucent in the sculpture. A separate building hosts rotating exhibits. The present exhibit features a local artist who uses mostly paper and cardboard in very unusual and innovative ways.

This is a wonderful museum – especially for a city the size of Mount Vernon, IL. We spent about 2 hours there and visited almost every part of the museum buildings and the grounds. The main gallery had some fabulous pieces by well-known artists. Be sure you see the marble statue with “transparent” clothing. (How can marble look “transparent” you ask? It did!) And the embroidered pictures done for the book “A Pocketful of Posies: A Treasury of Nursery Rhymes” by Salley Mavor were so intricate! You’ll really appreciate them if you have ever embroidered. The children’s area was also fascinating. My husband loved it! (It obviously appeals to inquiring minds – even those far beyond childhood.)When we visited, a separate building held arts of various sorts (paintings, jewelry, pottery, etc) all by Illinois artists.The grounds are extensive and there is quite a collection of outdoor sculptures – mostly modern. A tip: You may want to get the audios which describe them. We did not do that and felt we missed out by not doing so. This was a museum worth another visit – so we’ll do that the next time!(BTW --If you are considering an overnight stay in Mount Vernon, please see my separate review of Sidwell Friends B&B.)

Be surprised when you visit this gem of a museum located in small town Mt Vernon Illinois. The newly renovated and expanded building is modern and sleek, with permanent collection including an original by Mary Cassatt. There is also a family center where you can bring your little ones and allowed to explore and be creative. The outdoors is beautiful with their collection of garden sculptures, very unique in the region. Come on a brisk day and enjoy the scenery and the beautifully landscaped surroundings. Highly recommended.

There is an extensive collection of sculptures on the grounds here. I only visited the main building, where I saw three temporary exhibits and the permanent collection. The exhibit on books in the digital age seemed an eclectic stretch to me, ranging from decorated Mac laptops, to art made from books, to old books, to art with a vague book shape. The signs give no information beyond the artist, name of the piece, and year, which seemed a shame. I would have liked to know something more about some of the art. The museum is free, except for the main gallery which is $5. That seemed steep to me as there were only about 20 paintings in the collection. Yes, they are masterpieces, and I understand about overhead. I suppose if one considered it a fee for the whole museum, though, it's about right. If you're stopping for the first time, you'll want to see those paintings, and they do have descriptive text for most of them.The children's area was excellent, with many interactive activities kids would love from Lego mosaics, to a reproduction of a painting in life size layers that would be fun for a photo op. There was a charming exhibit tucked at the back of quilted pictures created by Sally Mavor for her picture book "Pocketful of Posies."

My wife loves the annual quilt shows and we have arranged our trip to include a visit. CedarHurst is near the hotels at I64 & I57