Ogden Museum of Southern Art
Old Library building, Confederate Hall, and Ogden Museum of Art | |
Established | 2003 |
---|---|
Location | 925 Camp Street, New Orleans, Louisiana, United States |
Coordinates | 29°56′37″N 90°04′17″W / 29.9437°N 90.0714°W |
Type | Art museum |
Collection size | 4000+ |
Director | William Pittman Andrews |
Curator | Bradley Sumrall; Richard McCabe (photography) |
Website | www |
The Ogden Museum of Southern Art is located in New Orleans, within the Central Business District adjacent to Lee Circle. It is associated with the University of New Orleans. Its focus is the visual arts and culture of the American South within the context of the region's history and culture.
Collection
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e4/Us_south_census.png/200px-Us_south_census.png)
The collection consists of work by artists from or associated with fifteen southern states (Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia) and the District of Columbia.[1] It is based upon the founding donation of more than 1,100 works from New Orleans businessman Roger H. Ogden's private collection. Since this original donation the museum’s collection of paintings, watercolors, drawings, prints, photographs, sculpture, wood and crafts has grown to include more than 4,000 works donated from individuals and collectors from across the US.[2]
The collection is the largest and most comprehensive collection of Southern art in the world and embodies the visual heritage and history of the American South from 1733 to the present. Among the many artists represented in the museum’s collection are John Alexander, Walter Anderson, Benny Andrews, Clementine Hunter, George Rodrigue, William Dunlap, Ida Kohlmeyer, Will Henry Stevens, Kendall Shaw, Hunt Slonem, James Michalopoulos and George Ohr.
When the Ogden Museum opened in 2003, the New York Times observed that there is no easily identifiable Southern art style in the museum’s collection. A sense of place, history and memory were themes that emerged. According to the Times, the artwork in the collection “range from folk art to shadowy paintings of bayous and back streets, from haunting old photographs to bright modern abstractions.”[3]
The museum also includes the Center for Southern Craft and Design, the Stephen Goldring Hall, which opened in 2003, and two buildings under construction and renovation: the Clementine Hunter Education Wing and the Patrick F. Taylor Library, designed by American 19th-century architect, Henry Hobson Richardson. The museum is a Smithsonian Affiliate.
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2e/Ogden_Entrance.jpg/220px-Ogden_Entrance.jpg)
The museum’s location is across the street from the National World War II Museum and the New Orleans Contemporary Arts Center. The three institutions anchor an arts districts serving local residents and over 11 million visitors to New Orleans.[3]
The Museum has permanent galleries and changing exhibitions throughout the year.
Exhibitions
During the Prospect.3 festival in 2014, the Ogden Museum showed nine works by American artist Jean-Michael Basquait. The paintings assembled focused on Southern themes.[4] “Basquait and the Bayou” was lauded as shedding new light on the influential artist.[5]
“Arthur Kern: The Surreal World of a Reclusive Sculptor,” opened in 2016, was the first major showing of the artist. The retired Tulane professor had been working without notice in his New Orleans studio when his unusual works were brought to the attention of the Ogden Museum. The sculptures of humans or horses were mostly made from polyester resin.[6]
In 2017, the Ogden exhibited “Solidary & Solitary: The Joyner/Giuffreda Collection,” the first public viewing of one of the most extensive collections of African-American abstract modern and contemporary art.[7] Among the artists included were Norman Lewis, Alma Thomas, Sam Gilliam, Kevin Beasley, Shinique Smith, Leonardo Drew, Jack Whitten and Mark Bradford. The show was presented with the Baltimore Museum of Art.[8]
As part of New Orleans’ tricentennial celebration in 2018, the museum presented “Salazar: Portraits of Influence in Spanish New Orleans.” The exhibit showed art and artifacts relating to portraitist Josef Francisco Xavier de Salazar y Mendoza (c, 1750-1802).[9] Salazar lived and worked as the leading portrait painter in New Orleans between 1785 and 1802. The exhibit featured about 30 paintings in the show. Only 50 paintings by Salazar are known to exist.[10]
An exhibit featuring the works of emerging, mid-career and established photographers was featured in “New Southern Photography” in 2018. According to Time Magazine, the exhibit examined photography “formulating the visual iconography in the modern New South.” Among the artists included in the show were Tommy Kah, RaMell Ross, John Chiara, Whitten Sabbatini, and Aaron Hardin.[11]
Programs and Events
Since 2003, the Ogden Museum has hosted Ogden After Hours on Thursday nights, 6pm-8 pm. It is a place for Southern musicians who want to showcase new work or break into the New Orleans market. Visitors can enjoy music in such genres as blues, jazz (contemporary and traditional), R&B, country, folk, rockabilly, Cajun, bluegrass, Swamp pop and rock 'n' roll. Musicians who have performed at OAH have included Ellis Marsalis, John Mooney, James Andrews, Jeremy Davenport, Mary Gauthier, Honey Island Swamp Band, Zachary Richard, Helen Gillet, and many more.
Other programming includes: Southern Storytellers: A literary showcase (that includes a reading, Q&A and booksigning) for Southern writers. Previous participants include: Ellen Gilchrist, Julia Reed, Tim Gauthreaux, Rick Bragg, Winston Groom, Donna Tartt, among others. Artists and Sense of Place puts artists into New Orleans area schools; Summer camps focusing art and fashion; and Films at the O screens movies that explore the culture of the American South.
Awards and Recognition
In 2015, the museum was awarded the National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Award for the Ogden’s Teen Docent Program. Over 350 nominees competed for the award which was presented by First Lady Michelle Obama at the White House.
The Ogden’s Teen Docent Program was created in 2008 and had seen over 40 students enrolled at the time of the award. The students interacted with more than 7,000 people through museum tours, outreach programs and summer camps.[12]
Roger Ogden, whose collection was the basis for the founding of the museum, was awarded the Times-Picayune Loving Cup in 2017. The award was created in 1901 to recognize men and women who have worked for the betterment of the New Orleans community.
Ogden was recognized for his years of service with many non-profit organizations as well as his devotion to Southern art and his initial gift to the Ogden Museum of about 600 paintings and sculpture.[13]
The Ogden Museum was selected to receive a grant from Bloomberg Philanthropies as part of its Arts Innovation and Management Program. The program will provide operating support and management training through a $43 million multi-year program for institutions across the country. The announcement was made in 2018.[14]
References
- ^ David Houston (2006-07-31). The Art of the South 1890-2003:The Ogden Museum of Southern Art. Scala Publishers. ISBN 978-1-85759-325-9.
- ^ "Ogden Museum of Southern Art". New Orleans Tourism Marketing Corporation. Retrieved 2011-06-04.
- ^ a b Kinzer, Stephen (2003-11-12). "Embracing Southern Art: Old Times There Are Not Forgotten". The New York Times. Retrieved 2018-10-06.
- ^ MacCash, Doug (2014-11-11). "'Basquiat and the Bayou,' the No. 1 Prospect.3 art festival stop in New Orleans". NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune. Retrieved 2018-10-06.
- ^ D'Addario, John (2014-11-4). "Small but intense P.3 exhibit spotlights influential artist". The New Orleans Advocate. Retrieved 2018-10-06.
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(help) - ^ Robertson, Campbell (2016-03-28). "At 84, an Artist Tries Something New: Displaying His Work". The New York Times. Retrieved 2018-10-06.
- ^ D'Addario, John (1017-10-03). "Exhibit to focus on role of black artists in Modernism". The New Orleans Advocate. Retrieved 2018-10-06.
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(help) - ^ Felsenthal, Julia (2017-10-02). "Activist Art Collector Pamela Joyner Intends to Reframe the History of Abstraction". Vogue. Retrieved 2018-10-06.
- ^ MacCash, Doug (2018-03-29). "16 New Orleans Tricentennial exhibits and activities not to miss". NOLA.com. Retrieved 2018-10-06.
- ^ Bruno, R. Stephanie (2018-08-01). "Colonial-era painter featured in tricentennial show at Ogden". The New Orleans Advocate. Retrieved 2018-10-06.
- ^ Milstein, Kara (2018-10-05). "New Voices in Southern Photography and Where to See Them This Fall". Time Magazine. Retrieved 2018-10-09.
- ^ Brasted, Chelsea (2018-11-17). "Warren Easton student accepts national award for Ogden Museum from Michelle Obama". NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune. Retrieved 2018-10-06.
- ^ Pope, John (2017-08-27). "Roger Ogden to receive 2016 Times-Picayune Loving Cup". NOLA.com. Retrieved 2018-10-06.
- ^ Armstrong, Annie (2018-08-30). "Bloomberg Philanthropies Gives $43 M. to 53 Arts Organizations in Austin and New Orleans". ARTnews. Retrieved 2018-10-06.
External links
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)