Since 2016, together with Museum Curator Dana Holland-Beickert of Memphis, Tennessee, Wendy Rodrigue’s Life & Legacy Foundation has produced career-spanning George Rodrigue exhibitions ranging from early landscapes to dynamic late works. See Past Exhibitions.
Through education and community outreach corresponding with each exhibition, the Life & Legacy Foundation utilizes George Rodrigue’s art and history to inspire creativity, imagination, and curiosity in children and adults alike. Wendy Rodrigue’s unique and unplugged presentations go beyond the expected, creating a mesmerizing view of the journey of the Great American Artist, George Rodrigue!
Carnival in the Nation’s Capital: The Washington Mardi Gras Ball
Opening October 2022
The Louisiana State Museum Capitol Park Museum
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
As part of this group exhibition, experience George Rodrigue’s paintings and memorabilia related to the Washington Mardi Gras Ball, including his reign as King of the Mystick Krewe of Louisianians in 1994. Learn more at https://www.louisianastatemuseum.org/exhibitions
Watch the video below, and read more in a new blog post, It’s Good to be the King.
Also on view, Rodrigue’s portrait and sketch of King Marion Edwards (1985), and a 14-foot hand-painted banner created by Rodrigue for his exhibition, “Blue Dog for President,” held at Union Station, Washington, D.C., in 1996.
Coming in 2023
On the 10th anniversary of George Rodrigue’s death, Wendy Rodrigue and her Life & Legacy Foundation announce a series of unique exhibitions presented at museums across five states. All exhibitions include educational components in partnership with local schools, plus docent trainings and lectures.
The River is the Road: Paintings by George Rodrigue
June 17 – October 29, 2023
West Baton Rouge Museum
Port Allen, Louisiana
Sponsored by Telich Custom Homes, Morgan Stanley and Louisiana Lottery
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.
The waterways of Louisiana were the early highways of its inhabitants. We had no roads; we just had the water. They were the natural fairways for commerce, development, and everything necessary for settlers to expand.
George Rodrigue
George Rodrigue: Painting for Myself
September 12, 2023 – December 10, 2023
Museum of New Art
Portsmouth, New Hampshire
Sponsored by Avery Insurance
This highly personal Museum of New Art exhibition honors Rodrigue on the 10th anniversary of his death and includes rarely seen paintings, created without influence or directions from clients, galleries or collectors. Artworks range in date from 1969 to 2013, with a special focus on paintings created during the last decade of Rodrigue’s life.
Also included is the last self portrait created by the artist, a surreal image that reveals his acceptance and identification as the Blue Dog Man.
Reagan and Gorbachev: Paintings by George Rodrigue
The Compelling Story Behind Stolen Artworks at a Moscow Summit
November 2025
Ronald Reagan Museum
Eureka College
Eureka, Illinois
Presented in loving memory of Linda Stemler, friend to George and Wendy Rodrigue
In 1988 the National Republican Party (through the Assistant Secretary of Energy, Henson Moore) commissioned George Rodrigue to paint President Ronald Reagan. In May 1988, George Rodrigue presented an exhibition of his works, including President Reagan’s portrait, An American Hero, at the Summit Meeting in Moscow. As a companion piece to President Reagan’s portrait, he painted the President of the former Soviet Union, Mikhail Gorbachev. The paintings hung side by side at the Sovereign Center World Trade Center complex, along with ten other Rodrigue paintings, all borrowed from collectors.
The painting of Mikhail Gorbachev created great controversy. Learn more HERE.
George Rodrigue: “Enjoy Life!”
The Artist’s Journey in Words and Paintings
Dates TBA
Bayou Teche Museum
New Iberia, Louisiana
With gratitude to the citizens of Rodrigue’s beloved hometown
George Rodrigue’s creative process was inseparable from his evolving philosophy of life. On the 10th Anniversary of his death, the artist returns to his hometown of New Iberia, Louisiana, with a personal exhibition, both profound and revealing. Drawn from interviews, books, notes, and journals, “George Rodrigue: Enjoy Life!” is an unprecedented installation that pairs the artist’s paintings with his words.
Please contact us for information regarding exhibition opportunities, and corresponding outreach programs.