Wendy Rodrigue’s passion for art history delivered her to George Rodrigue’s French Quarter gallery in 1991, and as fate would have it, she began a lifetime with world-renowned artist George Rodrigue (1944-2013). The couple married in 1997. Wendy partnered with Rodrigue on the development of his career, including his galleries, museum exhibitions, a dozen books on his art, and education outreach within schools.
Originally from the Florida Panhandle, Wendy attended Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas, and received degrees in Art History and English, followed by the American University in Vienna, Austria, and graduate school in Art History at Tulane University in New Orleans.
After managing George Rodrigue’s galleries for 28 years, including New Orleans, Carmel, California, and Munich, Germany, Wendy turned full time to non-profit work focused on the arts in education, as well as the personal and artistic legacy of George Rodrigue. In 2017 she established the Life & Legacy Foundation and Art Tour, a 501(c)(3) inspired by her late husband. Embarking bi-annually on coast-to-coast tours, she has personally delivered, in the past nine years, some 825 presentations. During these unique, unplugged sessions, Wendy shares original, museum quality Rodrigue paintings from her private collection, blending intimate installations with the art of storytelling. In November 2024, she celebrated her 200th school at George Rodrigue’s alma mater, Catholic High in New Iberia, Louisiana.
As of Fall 2025, she has visited 235 schools, some 825 presentations, 10 states, and more than 100,000 students in this rare art experience.
“I established the Life & Legacy Foundation because I believe, as did my late husband, George Rodrigue, in the importance of active, in person engagement through storytelling and the arts. This interaction nurtures curiosity and creative thinking, promotes honest dialogue, encourages respect for diverse opinions, and establishes imagination as the key to it all.”
Through her Life & Legacy Foundation, Wendy and her team organize museum exhibitions of Rodrigue’s work, accompanied by community lectures, as well as art tours for local schools. Current and Upcoming Exhibitions include:
Rodrigue’s Mardi Gras Colors at the Carnegie Visual Arts Center in Decatur, Alabama
George Rodrigue a Louisiana Cowboy at Historic City Hall in Lake Charles, Louisiana
Today, when she’s not on the road for Life & Legacy, Wendy lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico, with her current husband, Douglas Magnus, also an artist, and a longtime friend to George Rodrigue.
For more information, visit www.legacyarttour.org
Updated December 2025.
“The Other Half” Credit WAFB Channel 9 Baton Rouge, LA.
