Throughout his career, Ansel Adams was always interested in gravestones. Beginning in the 1930s and continuing through the 1960s, Adams photographed old carved headstones in cemeteries from California to New England. He viewed these markers as “profoundly human.” Read More
Between World Wars I and II, James Van Der Zee was one of the most popular photographers in Harlem, New York. Known primarily for his portraits, Van Der Zee also worked for a wide range of clients outside of his studio, including a variety of Harlem’s diverse faith communities. Read More
NOMA’s staff offer suggestions on books for all ages related to themes of art, the natural world, and environmental issues. Read More
The New Orleans Museum of Art is a proud partner of the Google Cultural Institute, a website offering high-resolution images of works in the museum’s permanent collection for viewing audiences around the world. Read More
John Genin’s panoramic portrayal of a leisurely day at the beach in Surf Bathing, Grand Isle (c. 1885–1890) is a scene familiar to generations of Louisianians who have enjoyed carefree excursions to Louisiana’s only inhabited island in the Gulf of Mexico. Read More
A unique camera-less photograph NOMA’s collection was part of an extensive project to document plants from Great Britain and British colonies like Ceylon (now Sri Lanka). This cyanotype illustrates an early example of how important photography would become in our attempts to learn about and protect the natural world. Read More
In the pantheon of Catholic saints, St. Joseph holds a special place of devotion among many New Orleanians. On his feast day of March 19, Sicilian Americans in south Louisiana have long built elaborate food-laden altars of bread, fish, fruits, vegetables, pastas, cookies, and other non-meat Lenten specialties as a carryover tradition from Europe. Churches… Read More
On Wednesday, March 11, at noon Benjamin Benus, an associate professor of art and design history at Loyola University in New Orleans who specializes in the history of twentieth-century art and design, with a focus on Central Europe in the years between the world wars, will discuss Herbert Bayer and the Bauhaus Legacy in America…. Read More
The NOMA Teen Squad is a diverse group of creative teens that serve as leaders and ambassadors of the museum. Teen Squad members meet on a weekly basis throughout the school year to engage in arts immersion programming of all kinds, including planning a special Teen Night on Friday, March 6, from 6 to 9 pm with FREE food, screen-printed T-shirts, art activities, youth performances, music by DJ Legatron Prime, and more! Read More
Equal parts sculpture and costume, the wearable Soundsuits of artist Nick Cave appear to defy convention and physics. Two of these wildly imaginative works are on view in the pavilion of NOMA’s Besthoff Sculpture Garden. New Orleans’ own Mardi Gras Indians are among the artist’s inspirations, which are rooted in both whimsy and vulnerability. Read More
From Romeo and Juliet to the dynamic designer couple of Charles and Ray Eames, NOMA’s galleries feature an array of backstories about famous couples. Join us on Valentine’s Day, February 14, for a Friday Nights at NOMA concert with jazz vocalist Meghan Stewart. Read More
In his artistic practice, Daniel Callahan explores the expressive qualities of facial decoration in an evolving series he calls MassQing. He will join other artists inspired by African art traditions during Friday Nights at NOMA on February 7 from 5 to 9 pm. Read More
In its mission to serve as a multi-faceted cultural convener for all audiences, the New Orleans Museum of Art began construction on renovations to its auditorium complex in early January of 2020. Flexible and contemporary, the reimagined space will serve in multiple capacities. Read More
More than 200 years after his untimely death, Robert Burns remains a beloved Scottish poet whose birthday is celebrated the world over. Bagpipes, folk dancing, dramatic recitations—and a parade of haggis—will all be part of a Friday Nights at NOMA tribute on January 31 from 5 to 9 pm in partnership with The NOLA Project theater company. Read More
The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation has awarded the New Orleans Museum of Art a $1,000,000 grant to support the planning and staffing of a new conservation initiative. The funds will support the establishment of a conservation center at NOMA, and create two new museum positions in the areas of object conservation including outdoor sculpture, and photography conservation. Read More
In conjunction with the exhibition Inventing Acadia: Painting and Place in Louisiana, the New Orleans-based artists ensemble known as Southerly Gold was invited to create an interactive installation for the Evelyn L. Burkenroad Creative Concept Studio on NOMA’s first floor. Read More
Torkwase Dyson will speak about her new exhibition, Torkwase Dyson: Black Compositional Thought | 15 Paintings for the Plantationocene, as part of Friday Nights at NOMA on January 24 at 7 pm. Her abstract works are informed by Black Compositional Thought, a working term that considers how waterways, architecture, objects, and geographies are composed and inhabited by black bodies. Read More
In 2014, NOMA acquired the parlor furnishings from Greenwood Plantation, today called Butler-Greenwood, in St. Francisville, Louisiana. In its installation, NOMA has taken thoughtful steps to present the parlor’s story and recognize all the lives lived at Greenwood Plantation—original purchaser Harriet Mathews, her family, and, equally, the enslaved men, women, and children whose labor created their wealth. Read More