Rodrigue: Before the Blue Dog
Cabildo Louisiana State Museum
701 Chartres Street
New Orleans, Louisiana
Part of my goal while working with children for the Life & Legacy Foundation is for George Rodrigue to become real and relatable for them. I realize that it’s more likely that his art and story will inspire them if they feel this connection. This little walk and vignette with students from Arthur Ashe Charter School, caught by Douglas recently at The Cabildo, is a wonderful example.
Although the Life & Legacy Foundation was not involved in curating this new exhibition at the Cabildo Louisiana State Museum, we always appreciate the creative perspectives on George Rodrigue, his art and his legacy. Extending a special thank you to LSM Historian and Curator Joyce Miller and her team. Together they wove Louisiana artifacts into a unique installation, enhancing an immersive art experience inspired by RODRIGUE that George especially would have appreciated.
Exhibition continues through September 2025.
From Wendy Rodrigue:
Thank you to Lt. Governor Billy Nungesser of Louisiana!
It all started in 2019 with my proposal based on a dream. I hoped to honor my late husband, George Rodrigue, with a major exhibition at the historic Cabildo in New Orleans, plus traveling Rodrigue exhibitions at LSM venues statewide. To my delight, it was taken seriously enough that I was invited, on behalf of the George Rodrigue Life & Legacy Foundation, to present my concept to the LSM Board of Directors. I received an enthusiastic reception within the walls of the Old U.S. Mint in New Orleans. Symbolically, it was as though we were minting a new currency of local respect for Rodrigue’s work!
Within weeks, I learned that the presentation made a significant impact. It was Lieutenant Governor Billy Nungesser who announced the Cabildo Rodrigue exhibition publicly when he introduced me as the keynote speaker during the Louisiana Association of Broadcasters convention at the Hotel Monteleone in May 2019. The room was enthusiastic over the news and is no doubt as glad as I am to finally see this exhibition come about. There were others who called these efforts “Pie in the Sky!” …and yet I learned then, and am seeing finally now, that they were an enormous success.
Although I have only a small part in the final exhibition, I’m very happy to see this important focus on George’s early paintings become a major installation at the Cabildo on Jackson Square in New Orleans. “Rodrigue: Before the Blue Dog” opened with the annual Founders Ball on Nov. 22nd, hosted by the Louisiana Museum Foundation.
Congratulations to the Louisiana State Museum, Friends of the Cabildo, the Louisiana Museum Foundation, and Lt. Governor Nungesser. Thank you to family, friends and supporters, on behalf of George Rodrigue, myself, and all who appreciate George’s tremendous contributions towards shaping the visual and historical narrative of Louisiana art.
Video Narratives
Filmed at the Cabildo Louisiana State Museum, Wendy Rodrigue shares the story behind George Rodrigue’s magnificent 1971 painting, “The Daughters of Andre Chastant,” as told to her by her late husband.
Press
- French Quarter Journal
George Rodrigue: Before the Blue Dog
January 2025, by Doug Brantley - Nola.com
Before the ‘Blue Dog,’ Louisiana’s George Rodrigue painted his childhood in Cajun country
01/03/2025 By Dave Walker