January 2026
2026 Rodrigue Exhibitions & Tours
Wendy Rodrigue updates on the latest from the George Rodrigue Life & Legacy Foundation.
Join Wendy Rodrigue for the Following Events:
January 22, 2026, Decatur, AL: Exhibit Reception for Rodrigue’s Mardi Gras Colors, Carnegie Visual Arts Center. 6pm
January 23, 2026, Lake Charles, LA: Celebrate the opening of Rodrigue: A Louisiana Cowboy with an evening reception honoring the legacy of iconic Louisiana artist George Rodrigue. Historic City Hall. 5:30-7:30 pm
January 24, Lake Charles, LA: Families are invited to a special Family Day featuring two sessions at 1:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. Each session is limited to 50 participants, and attendees must register in advance. Guests will be led on a guided tour of the exhibition by Wendy Rodrigue, George Rodrigue’s widow, followed by a hands-on craft activity hosted by the Children’s Museum of Southwest Louisiana. Register by calling 337-491-9147.
January 27, 2026, Lake Charles, LA: Gallery Talk and Tour with Wendy Rodrigue:
Join Wendy Rodrigue for an inside look at the exhibit, Rodrigue: A Louisiana Cowboy, and gain personal insight into George Rodrigue’s work and inspiration. Historic City Hall. 5:30-7 pm.
February 14, 2026, Decatur, AL: Wendy rides as Grand Marshall in the Carnegie Mardi Gras Parade, Decatur, Alabama.
March 13-15, 2026, New Orleans, LA: Wendy Rodrigue presents at Tulane University as part of the New Orleans Book Festival
- March 13, Tulane University: Special session with Wendy Rodrigue, moderated by Betsy Fischer Martin. Time TBA.
- March 15, Tulane University: Wendy Rodrigue shares paintings and stories for Family Day. Time TBA.
March 18-19, 2026, Abilene, TX: Wendy Rodrigue presents at McMurry University’s Women’s Leadership Lunch
Don’t miss Rodrigue’s Mardi Gras Colors
NOW OPEN in Decatur, AL
Mardi Gras, complete with the colors, cultural tradition, pageantry and joie de vivre continued as a recurring theme in Rodrigue’s work, not just during Carnival, but throughout the year. This kaleidoscopic vibrancy factors heavily in his Blue Dog Series, yet even his Oak Trees, as sprinkled throughout this exhibition, eventually take on the surreal and colorful feeling of the season. Learn More
Right after Christmas, which is mostly white lights and silver bells, Mardi Gras season arrives full force, interrupting winter with a burst of color. These hues come from the thousands of different costumes, masks, flags, floats, beads, and doubloons, all of which swirl around the three primary colors of purple, green and gold.
G.R.
George Rodrigue: A Louisiana Cowboy
January 23 – April 4, 2026
Historic City Hall & Cultural Center
1001 Ryan Street
Lake Charles, Louisiana
The Louisiana Cowboy’s story blends Creole, Cajun and Native American cultures. Yet for George Rodrigue, the narrative is only semi-historical, as in his monumental Louisiana Cowboys, within this exhibition. Although never a horseman, Rodrigue explored the romance of the cowboy’s journey, spanning history to Hollywood. His imagination paid tribute to the Cowboy and Native American cultures while inventing a new Louisiana cowboy, one that often starred himself as a young boy. As a result, this is less an exhibition steeped in history than it is a child’s fantasy, made real on his canvas and carried throughout his life.
Fall in Santa Fe!
October 21 – November 13, 2025, Santa Fe, NM: Outreach in Santa Fe, New Mexico, area schools
During October and November 2025 Wendy focuses on her home state of New Mexico when she shares for four weeks with students in Santa Fe Public Schools. These include Thomas Elementary, Capital High School, Nina Otero Community School, Amy Biehl Community School, and Sweeney Elementary.
There are days that take my breath away. Grateful for four weeks in Santa Fe Public Schools.
Sharing George Rodrigue’s life and art with multiple classes and grades this fall at Ramirez Thomas Elementary, Capital High School, Nina Otero Community School, Amy Biehl Community School, and Sweeney Elementary.
Thank you to everyone who attends my classes for Santa Fe Community College Continuing Education. Your registration fee supports this programming in local schools.
Wendy Rodrigue
This outreach is made possible by the participants in Wendy’s classes for Santa Fe Community College Continuing Education! Stay tuned for all-new offerings, coming Summer 2026.
Carmel International Film Festival
BLUE: The Life and Art of George Rodrigue, has been selected as a Best Narrative Feature Film!
Join Wendy Rodrigue at the Carmel International Film Festival in Carmel, California, October 2-5. Learn more, and purchase tickets HERE.
I’m a Movie Star is a new, limited edition silkscreen that recalls George Rodrigue’s cover design for the 2013 Carmel Art & Film Festival. Now, twelve years later, Rodrigue will be honored at the 2025 Carmel International Film Festival with a screening of the new documentary, BLUE: The Life & Art of George Rodrigue, directed by Sean O’Malley of O’Malley Productions, Knoxville, TN, and produced by WLAE-TV, New Orleans.
For information on purchasing George Rodrigue’s I’m a Movie Star, visit WLAE.com. For information on the Carmel International Film Festival, visit ciffest.com.
Print sales benefit WLAE’s documentaries for Public Broadcasting.
Watch the film, now streaming at PBS.org.
Hurricane Katrina, 20 Years
Join Wendy Rodrigue for memories of George Rodrigue and New Orleans, as she recalls the months following Hurricane Katrina. Filmed by Douglas Magnus in Spanish Plaza at the Mississippi River, August 2025.
Now Streaming!
Watch at pbs.org
George and Wendy Rodrigue
George and Wendy Rodrigue were married from 1997 until his death in 2013. For some 35 years, Wendy’s life’s work has been to share Rodrigue’s Life and Art in as broad and quality a manner as possible. Together, the couple partnered on the development of all aspects of Rodrigue’s career and life, including his galleries, museum exhibitions, a dozen books published both nationally and internationally on his art, and extensive education outreach.
In 2017 Wendy Rodrigue established the Life & Legacy Tour, now a 501(c)(3) non-profit foundation, continuing and expanding her late husband’s artistic and philanthropic vision while honoring one of America’s most illustrious artists, George Rodrigue. As of 2026, Wendy has personally delivered some 850 art lectures and tours, filmed the history of 58 Rodrigue paintings and sculptures, and visited 260 schools in 10 states, impacting more than 100,000 students with this rare art experience. Now entering its tenth year, the Life & Legacy Foundation has organized 21 Rodrigue museum exhibitions. Through Life & Legacy, Wendy has facilitated numerous museum and community partnerships, including the Ohr-O’Keefe Museum of Art, the LSU Museum of Art, the West Baton Rouge Museum, the Museum of New Art, Carnegie Visual Arts Center, Associations of Broadcasters, Chambers of Commerce, Womens Leadership Conferences, Literary Clubs, Continuing Education for LSU and Santa Fe Community College, and many more.
during the OKA+ Schools Teacher Conference at the University of Central Oklahoma in June 2021.
Enjoy this raw clip from her opening remarks.
Learn more in this blog post for “Musings of an Artist’s Wife”