September 2023
George and Wendy Rodrigue
George Rodrigue: Painting for Myself
September 12, 2023 – January 2, 2024
New England Events September 7-16, 2023
- September 7
Wolfeboro, New Hampshire. Education outreach within area schools. Organized and sponsored by Avery Insurance. - September 11-16
Museum of New Art, Portsmouth, New Hampshire. George Rodrigue: Painting for Myself. Education partnerships, docent training, and other events. - September 11, 3:00 p.m.
Docent training for staff, board, and volunteers, Museum of New Art - September 14, 5-7:00 p.m.
Please join Wendy Rodrigue for the opening reception of George Rodrigue: Painting for Myself, Museum of New Art. Learn more - September 15, 2:00 p.m.
Exhibition Tour with Wendy Rodrigue, open to the public, Museum of New Art - September 16, 2:00 p.m.
Exhibition Tour with Wendy Rodrigue, open to the public, Museum of New Art
Louisiana Public Broadcasting Presents
a George Rodrigue Museum Tour with Wendy Rodrigue
This compelling news story, part of “Louisiana: The State We’re In,” includes original LPB footage of George Rodrigue, plus an update on the Life & Legacy Foundation, including Fall 2023 Baton Rouge area programming associated with the WBRM exhibition.
The River is the Road: Paintings by George Rodrigue
West Baton Rouge Museum; Port Allen, Louisiana
June 17 – October 29, 2023
Sponsored by Telich Custom Homes, LLC, Morgan Stanley and Louisiana Lottery Corporation. Organized by the Life & Legacy Foundation with Wendy Rodrigue, in partnership with the West Baton Rouge Museum.
Featuring 35 original Rodrigue paintings!
NOW OPEN at the West Baton Rouge Museum, this first of its kind exhibition traces 45 years of the river in Rodrigue’s paintings, exploring the unique ways Rodrigue used the river as a reference to his Cajun heritage, and ultimately as a metaphor for the journey of life. Click here to learn more about past and upcoming events!
This unprecedented exhibition of rarely seen George Rodrigue paintings tours for 2 1/2 years to four additional museums, including the Carnegie Visual Arts Center in Decatur, Alabama; the Masur Museum in Monroe, Louisiana; the Monthaven Arts and Cultural Center in Hendersonville, Tennessee; and the Alexandria Museum of Art in Alexandria, Louisiana.
2023 Recap
May 2023: Celebrating “Louisiana Day” in Metairie, LA, and a special presentation in Santa Fe, New Mexico
May 12: Metairie, Louisiana
Wendy Rodrigue brought her Life & Legacy Tour to St. Catherine of Siena School In Metairie, Louisiana, sharing George Rodrigue’s story and original paintings, as part of the historic school’s “Louisiana Day!”
Each child received a Blue Dog poster from the George Rodrigue Family Trust as “lagniappe” to take home. Thank you to teacher Shanna Barnett and the awesome students of St. Catherine’s! Also, special thanks to our volunteers, Marney Robinson and Douglas Shiell.
Enjoy this special glimpse of this wonderful day at St. Catherine’s!
May 17: Santa Fe, New Mexico
What a joy to visit with Santa Fe’s young artists and gardeners at the base of George Rodrigue’s magnificent sculpture, on the beautiful grounds of the Acequia Madre House. Thank you to Jordan Young of the Women’s International Study Center, and especially to the delightful, curious, and engaging students of the Acequia Madre Elementary School!
And thank you to Brandon Vella for the wonderful photos:
February 2023: Sharing George Rodrigue during the month of love.
“Portraits” dominated this tour, and it resonated more than we could have imagined. After an hour in discussion together, students often chose to stay after class and look closer at these magnificent personal expressions by George Rodrigue and Douglas Magnus. If one is open to it, art in any form can be powerful and transformative. We’re more excited than ever to continue and expand this dynamic programming!
Sending a huge thank you to the Mattie Kelly Arts Foundation, which sponsored and organized the first ambitious week of 9 presentations in Okaloosa County schools. This partnership makes magic happen, and we’re full of gratitude!
The tour continued the following week in Decatur, Alabama, with 3 presentations in area schools, and an evening event at the Carnegie Visual Arts Center. With gratitude to the Carnegie Visual Arts Center, the Alabama State Council on the Arts, and the River Clay Foundation for organizing and sponsoring these days of outreach.
Last, but not least, a stop in Midland, Texas, where Wendy shared the Life & Art of George Rodrigue with students at Greenwood Elementary. The Life & Legacy Tour inspires through the arts, but in truth the children are the real gift!
George and Wendy Rodrigue
George and Wendy Rodrigue were married from 1997 until his death in 2013. For nearly 30 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.
Much more to come, as the 2023 tour takes us to Louisiana, New Hampshire, and Illinois, in exciting museum and education partnerships sponsored by Avery Insurance, Telich Custom Homes, Morgan Stanley, and multiple private contributions. Thank you for your generous support of this programming, inspired by and honoring the life and art of George Rodrigue! Hope to see you on the road!
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 June 2023, she has visited, personally, 137 schools and more than 600 classes in 8 states, engaging nearly 60,000 students in this rare art experience. 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, Associations of Broadcasters, Chambers of Commerce, Womens Leadership Conferences, Literary Clubs, Continuing Education, 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”