LOOKING INSIDE: Room Portraits of St. Louis by Cora Trout

Looking Inside: Room Portraits of St. Louis explores interior spaces in St. Louis through illustration, writing, and research. Looking at St. Louis through the eyes of her interiors uncovers new stories and histories that diverge from the same narrative of decline and decay that has come to shape so much of the city’s identity.  Illustrations and accompanying text immerse readers in beautiful spaces inside the city, while also connecting these spaces to the larger economic, social, and political histories of St. Louis and the surrounding metropolitan area. 

About the Author

Cora Trout is an illustrator, designer, and writer currently working in St. Louis, MO. A common purpose runs through her work: documentation. By merging the disciplines of art history, architecture, historical preservation, and design, she explores the role of artist as public historian. She works primarily in painting, but also in book design and animation.

She received her MFA from Washington University in St. Louis in 2024, and her BA with majors in French and Francophone Studies and Classics from Macalester College in 2016. She was most recently an artist-in-residence at the Cité Internationale des Arts in Paris (Sep-Oct 2024). Her MFA thesis, Looking Inside: Room Portraits of St. Louis, was the recipient of the Lewis E. Atherton Prize for an outstanding master’s thesis on Missouri history from the State Historical Society of Missouri. Her work has also been recognized by American Illustration 42.

Product Specifications

Published by Cora Trout, 2025. Paperback, 77 pages.