The NOMA Book Club meets monthly to discuss fiction and non-fiction books related to art in NOMA’s collection and exhibitions. Eleven books have been selected for monthly discussions and related curatorial programs for 2021. Read More
More than 500 years ago, Japanese artists developed a technique that celebrates breakage as a part of life’s journey. This ceramic-repair methodology, known as kintsugi, highlights cracks as part of the beauty and the history of an object, rather than something to disguise. Read More
NOMA’s Learning and Engagement team is excited to present monthly suggested reading lists for all ages based on a theme or exhibition in partnership with Octavia Books. Direct links for… Read More
Taken on its own as a visual object, this punch service in NOMA’s decorative arts collection is striking. A large aluminum sphere punch bowl centers a galaxy of spherical cups riding on a ring like Saturn’s, the repeated shapes emphasized and softened by spherical birchwood handles. Read More
Pottery has a long history as a tool for self-expression and a method of self-care. Whether your relationship to ceramics is placing your muddy hands around a spinning mound of clay, or your clean hands around a mug of tea, you’ve experienced the therapeutic qualities of pottery. Read More
Porcelain imported from China was one of the most prized commodities in sixteenth- and seventeenth-century Europe. Europeans had not yet figured out the secret formula to produce a pure white… Read More
From 1895 to 1940 Newcomb College Pottery gave young New Orleans women the skills they needed to reputably support themselves as artists. Mostly remembered today for coveted ceramic vases and… Read More
With a body like a polished stone and a handle reminiscent of indigenous Mexican animal figures, a recently acquired teapot seems to be of both nature and man, both ancient and modern. This elegant 1941 teapot by the prominent African American Modernist sculptor Sargent Claude Johnson is an extraordinary new addition to NOMA’s decorative arts collection. 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
The New Orleans Museum of Art announces the permanent installation of The Greenwood Parlor, now on view. In 2014, NOMA acquired the parlor furnishings from Greenwood Plantation, today called Butler-Greenwood, in St. Francisville, Louisiana. The 1850s/60s parlor suite assembled by Harriet Flower Mathews (1794-1873) survives with original textiles and rich documentation. After careful conservation, the parlor is one of the South’s best preserved examples of a pre-Civil War interior. In this installation, NOMA takes thoughtful steps to present the parlor’s story and recognize all the lives lived at Greenwood Plantation—Harriet Mathews, her family, and, equally, the enslaved men, women, and children whose labor created their wealth. Read More
Radiantly glazed and richly imaginative, Fairyland Luster pottery represent one of the most extraordinary technical achievements in the modern ceramic industry. Pieces of this Wedgwood collection from the early 20th century are on view in the second-floor elevator lobby. Read More
NOMA recently acquired a jardinière that was crafted around 1890 at the short-lived New Orleans Art Pottery. Though this small operation only produced pots for a few years, it carries outsized significance as one of the earliest American art potteries and an important precursor to the cherished pottery that thrived for decades at New Orleans’s Newcomb College. Read More
A newly acquired Punch Bowl with Cantonese “Hongs,”on display in the Lupin Gallery of Decorative Arts, reveals both the exquisite craftsmanship of Chinese porcelain and a window into international trade of the late eighteenth century. Read More
Small Talks are ten-to-fifteen-minute gallery talks focused on one object or a small group of objects. These brief informal sessions enrich the visitor experience and allow visitors to learn more… Read More
The undulating, dancing shapes of drinking vessels in Geoffrey Mann’s “The Second Line” cocktail service embody the sound waves of jazz and a touching conversation between two strangers. Read More
Ron Arad is one of the most influential designers of our time, known for his daring forms that span the disciplines of furniture, sculpture, and architecture. His Big Easy chair is a stunning addition to NOMA’s decorative arts collection. Read More
The “Second Line” Cocktail Service, a focused installation on view through May 2019, celebrates a new digital and glass work of art commissioned by the museum. Scottish designer Geoffrey Mann recorded the sounds he heard on Frenchmen Street in New Orleans. Using cutting-edge digital technologies combined with time-honored glass craft, Mann’s “Second Line” Cocktail Service embodies the ambient jazz music and conversation in three-dimensional objects. Read More
Join NOMA staff and fellow book lovers as we read and discuss fiction and nonfiction books related to art, artists, art museums, NOMA’s collections and exhibitions. Organized by NOMA’s Felix J. Dreyfous Library, the Book Club is an informal group. Contact NOMA Librarian Sheila Cork for more information. Read More