Ralph Eugene Meatyard (1925 – 1972) was a visionary photographer known for making haunting black and white photographs of his children in masks, portraits of literary friends and experiments in abstract photography.

Opening October 1, 2022 at Ogden Museum of Southern Art. Read More about The Photographs of Ralph Eugene Meatyard

This portrait captures the complex relationship between an enslaved boy and the children of his master – growing up in the same French Quarter mansion, where there existed simultaneously a sort of intimacy alongside the psychological trauma of forced bondage. At some point, likely in the late 19th or early 20th century, the figure of Bélizaire was intentionally painted over; effectively erasing him from the portrait. In 2005 the painting was sold to a private collector and underwent conservation, revealing Bélizaire’s image oncemore. Read More about Bélizaire and the Frey Children

This portrait of New Orleans’ chef and “Queen of Creole Cuisine,” Leah Chase, is appropriately larger than life as is Chase’s legacy as an advocate for both Creole cooking and African-American art. Her restaurant, Dooky Chase, became central to the Civil Rights movement in the 1960s, providing a safe place for meetings with leading figures of the movement including A.P. Tureaud, Ernest “Dutch” Morial, Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Freedom Riders. Over the years, she fed scores of luminaries – such as Sarah Vaughn, Nat King Cole, James Baldwin, Ray Charles and two US Presidents, George W. Bush and Barack Obama. She would often say, “In my dining room, we changed the course of America over a bowl of gumbo and some fried chicken.” Read More about Focus: Leah Chase by Aron Belka

A Summer’s Prayer examines photographs from Ogden Museum of Southern Art’s permanent collection that address themes reflected within the summer season – leisure, travel, memory and place. Read More about A Summer’s Prayer

Showcasing artwork from Photography Camp 2022. Aspiring photographers of all levels worked with teaching artist, Leah Floyd during a hands-on program designed to develop the skills needed to capture and construct powerful photographs. Campers engaged in-group activities as well as received individual instruction as they learned the basic elements of photography such as composition, exposure and the functions of their camera. The young photographers also focused on visual storytelling and documentary techniques, portraiture and experimented with photo collage. Read More about Photography Camp 2022 Exhibition

In 1987, Ida Kohlmeyer received a commission to design a major installation for the Audubon Aquarium of the Americas located in Woldenberg Park near the Mississippi River in downtown New Orleans. The installation, Aquatic Colonnade, was completed in 1990 and consisted of 20 brightly-colored abstracted sculptures representing sea creatures. While designing the installation, Kohlmeyer created small maquettes from soda cans, using these diminutive sculptures as preliminary sketches for the larger installation. These maquettes, now on view at Ogden Museum, were used as reference material in that process. Read More about Aquatic Colonnade Maquettes The Sculptures of Ida Kohlmeyer

Featuring artwork by students from Dillard University, Southern University at New Orleans and Xavier University of Louisiana. Read More about 9th Annual HBCU Art Showcase Presented by The New Orleans (LA) Chapter of The Links, Incorporated

These photographs and letters are part of a larger body of work that was first exhibited at Ogden Museum of Southern Art in the Fall of 2007. With the publication of the book version of the project last month, Ogden Museum has offered to highlight selections of the work again. Read More about David Rae Morris Love, Daddy: Letters from My Father

Featuring portraits and abstract works, Be Your Wonderful Self: The Portraits of Beauford Delaney explores the preeminent status portraiture held in the artist’s life and work, following the trajectory of his career from his “Greene Street” period in New York through his ardent embrace of pure abstraction after his relocation to Paris in 1953. Be Your Wonderful Self: The Portraits of Beauford Delaney is organized by Michael Rosenfeld Gallery, New York, New York. Read More about Be Your Wonderful Self: The Portraits of Beauford Delaney Organized by Michael Rosenfeld Gallery, LLC, New York, NY