The Ogden Museum of Southern Art, New Orleans

Last Thursday I visited the Ogden museum during their After Hours program from 5:30 to 8:00 pm. For a $10.00 non member admission, I was able to explore the beautiful museum at 925 Camp Street, just around the corner from Lee Circle.  After purchasing a glass of Chardonnay, I roamed and listen to the music of Rocket 88, from Oxford, Mississippi.  Jamie and Rosamond Posey performed singing and playing guitar, drums and harmonica.  The music wafted through 4 story atrium so I could enjoy while I visited the various galleries.  This is a must visit museum that is a part of the University of New Orleans and located in the Arts District along with many galleries.

Here is some of what I saw:

The first few are from the museum's permanent collection of Self-Taught, Outsider and Visionary Art.

"Airplane (Whirligig) 1969 by David Butler, Louisiana, 1898-1997

"Making Sorghum" 1964 by Theoa Hamblett, Mississippi, 1895-1977

"Flowing River," 1950 by Clementine Hunter, Louisiana, 1886-1988.  This artist worked on a plantation that was eventually occupied by "Hippies" I was told.  She taught herself to paint the life she witnessed.

"Cotton to Gin / Baptism" 1950 oil on panel by Clementine Hunter

"Johnson and Cindy at the Blue Room," 1990 by Roy Ferdinand, Louisiana, 1959-2004.  This artist grew up in the Gert Town section of New Orleans and also painted what he lived.

Another painting by Roy Ferdinand

"The Black Pearl," 2009 by Juan Logan, South Carolina, 1948 -

"Maybe By My Song," 2001 by Juan Logan

"Masquerade II," 1952 by Jack Stewart, Georgia, 1926-2005

"Wilbert Tillman, Preservation Hall," 1963 by Noel Rockmore, Louisiana, 1928-1995

"Billie and Dede Pierce, Preservation Hall," 1964 by Noel Rockmore

"Bill Matthews, Preservation Hall," 1963 by Noel Rockmore

"Going Home," 1992, paper-mache and mixed media, by Willie Birch, Louisiana, 1941 -

"Scarlet Georgia," 2013, oil on antique Congoleum flooring laminated on aluminum, by Jack Niven, Louisiana, 1958 -

"Ibis in the Night," 2000 by Michael Crespo, Louisiana, 1947 -

"Plower," 1989 by Benny Andrews, Georgia, 1930-2006
Benny was one of ten children from Plainview, Georgia.  With the encouragement from his mother, he graduated from the Art Institute of Chicago and moved to New York where he opened a studio and later became active in the Civil Rights movement.

"Grandmother's Dinner," 1992 by Benny Andrews

"Bluebonnet Scene with Girl," 1992 by Robert Julian Onderdonk, Texas, 1882-1922

"Sunset on St. John's River," 1878 by George Herbert McCord, Florida, 1848-1909

"Tenant Farmer," 1935 by Marie Atkinson Hull, Mississippi, 1890-1980

"Evening Meal, Duck Hill, Mississippi," 1934 by John McCrady, Louisiana, 1911-1968

"Portrait of a Negro," 1933 by John McCrady

"On the Levee at Natchez," 1904 by Harold Harrington Betts, Mississippi, 1881-1951

"Blue Pool," 1925-1930 by Will Henry Stevens, 1881-1949

"Uptown Street," 1890 by Lulu King Saxon, Louisiana, 1855-1927

Newcomb Gallery at Tulane University)

Last week, my friend Mary and I visited the Newcomb Gallery on the campus of Tulane University in New Orleans. The nearly 90 piece exhibit is entitled "Early Modern Faces European Portraits 1480-1780."  This period of Renaissance and Baroque painting included many portraits commissioned by churches, royals, and wealthy bankers and merchants.  The program states "there is always a fundamental tension between the drive to record the actual person's appearance and the desire to document a social, historical, or ideal persona."  Of course if you were paying an artist to paint yourself or a member of your family...you would go for the ideal persona.

Here are some of my favorites:

"The Bagpipe Player," 1624 from the Workshop of Hendrick ter Brugghen, Dutch, 1588-1629

"Self-Portrait," 1711 by Nicolas de Largillere, French, 1656-1746

"Saint Paul Writing His Epistles," 1618-1620 by Valentin de Boulogne, French, 1590-1632

"Pope Gregory The Great," by Circle of Giovanni Lanfranco, Italian, 1581-1647

"The Mocking of Christ," 1585-1590 by Jacopo Tintoretto

"Saint Sebastian," 1615-1620 by Simon Vouet, French, 1590-1649

"Portrait of Antoine Triest, Bishop of Ghent, 1627 by Sir Anthony van Dyck, Flemish, 1599-1641

"Louis XIV of France," 1670 by Claude Lefebvre, French, 1632-1675

"Henry VIII, Mary I, and Will Sommers The Jester" 1504-1503 by The English School

"Merry Company," 1630 by Dirck Hals, Dutch, 1591-1656

"Portrait of a Woman As Saint Agnes," by Paolo Veronese, Italian, 1528-1588

"Portrait of a Lady, Sometimes Called Cecilia Gallerani," 1518-1520 by Bartolomeo Veneto, Italian, 1502-1546

"A Young Woman Playing a Lute, 1570 by Parrasio Micheli, Italian, 1516-1578

The Arts District Galleries Treasures

We enjoyed a couple of galleries in the New Orleans Arts District on Julia Street before we grabbed a cab and retreated from the rain.  The first paintings were at the LeMieux Gallery at 332 Julia Street.  Here are a few favorites:

"Deliverance," acrylic on board by Vidal Blankenstein

"The Journey Has Reached an Impasse," acrylic on panel, by Kathleen Lolley

"Rising Water," oil on canvas by Kate Trepagnier

"Red-Winged Blackbird on Oyster Grass, Horn Island," oil on canvas by Billy Solitario

"Bayou La Lontre," oil on canvas by Aron Belka

"Oysters on Half Shells," oil on canvas by Billy Solitario

"Lightning over Chandeleur Island Boats," oil on canvas by Bill Solitario

"The Gift," mixed media by Shannon Landis Hansen

"Our Home," by Shannon Landis Hanson

"Ancient Sea II," oil on board by Alan Gerson

This painting on tin was at the Soren Christensen Gallery at 400 Julia entitled "Cathedral II," by Drew Galloway.

Sazerac at the Sazerac Bar, Roosevelt Hotel

Last Sunday we enjoyed a great respite at the Sazerac Bar at the Roosevelt Hotel in New Orleans. This historic hotel off of Canal Street has been beautifully restored by the Hilton folks with all the chandeliers gleaming.  I have wonderful memories of a date with Julia Ann in the Blue Room of the Hotel with Julie London singing and slinking around the room in 1968.

The Sazerac Bar is a quiet temple for imbibing and casual conversations.  The paneled walls and mirrors are punctuated with large murals by Paul Ninas (1903-1964) who lived in New Orleans the last half of his life.  He painted these murals for the hotel in 1939 after the hotel owner saw his work for public buildings for the W.P.A.

Paul Ninas was born in Missouri and attended the University of Nebraska where his father taught.  He and a friend dropped out of school and hitchhiked across the U.S., visited Mark Twain's home in Hannibal and rowed a boat down the Mississippi to New Orleans.  He traved to Turkey, Syria, Palestine, Egypt, North Africa and Germany.  He studied art in Vienna and lived on Montparnasse in Paris along with other artists and writers like Ernest Hemingway.  After selling a coconut and lime plantation on the island of Dominica, he moved to New Orleans where he painted using a Caribbean style.  He later moved to a Cubism style of painting.

His daughter Paula lives in New Orleans and is creating interesting pottery.  These and some of Paul Nina's paintings are at the LeMieux Gallery at 332 Julia Street in the Arts District.

By the way, I enjoyed the Sazerac drink which is made from 3 oz of rye whiskey, 3/4 oz. of simple syrup, Peychaud bitters, Absinthe, and a lemon twist for garnish.

Here are some of Paul Ninas paintings.  The first ones are his murals from the Sazerac Bar.  By the way, an employee filed a lawsuit because she saw the murals as degrading to African Americans, especially women. Others say it reflects the 1930's in New Orleans.  What do you think?

The paintings are by Paul Ninas and are for sale at the LeMieux Gallery.  The last picture is of the pottery made by his daughter, Paula Ninas.  The pitcher on the right now has home with us in Los Angeles.