Perhaps the quintessential St. Louis artist, Fred Conway’s career reflects a multitude of artistic styles as he consistently explored the landscape of the city. Constantly inspired by his surroundings, he worked and reworked his favorite scenes such as the bustling corner of Grand and Olive and the hectic platforms at Union Station, with a deft handling of almost all mediums and each to great success.

As a modernist he was most concerned with depicting his own vision of the frenetic pace of modern life. Always interested in the culture of St. Louis, Conway painted classical portraits of its famous citizens and explored nearly every civic building and monument from every angle; while imparting his knowledge and skills to hundreds of students at Washington University's School of Fine Arts.

Conway had an enormous joie de vivre, which is evident in all of his work, and his passion for experimentation led him to be labeled as an aesthetic hobo. The works accumulated here just begin to touch the surface of the prolific career of the artist as he captured his city, again and again.