FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 19, 2022
(New Orleans, LA) – On Saturday, October 15, 2022 Ogden Museum of Southern Art will hold its annual O What a Night! Gala honoring iconic Louisiana artist, George Dunbar. A Patron Party and auction preview will be hosted on October 13 in the private home of a prominent local art collector. The O What a Night! Gala 2022 is Co-Chaired by Penny Francis and Jason Waguespack.
Jason Waguespack states, “I am proud to co-host the O What a Night! Gala with Penny Francis to showcase the wonderful work being done at Ogden Museum of Southern Art. Their unique mission to conserve, collect and present art of the American South has attracted national and international attention to the Museum as well as to the city and region. Ogden Museum provides a vital showcase for all Southern artists, past, present and future, and encourages the continued flourishing of this distinct and important art. Ogden Museum is truly a jewel for the city and region.”
The gala evening will begin with a cocktail reception presented by Sazerac, Inc. and a silent auction sponsored by the renowned auction house, Neal Auction Company. Entertainment by Jeremy Davenport will welcome guests into the tent for a beautiful dinner generously provided by the award-winning restaurant Saba, complimented by desserts from Beth Biundo Sweets and a coffee bar from PJ’s Coffee. Dinner will be followed by a presentation of the 2022 Opus Award honoring George Dunbar with remarks from Executive Director, William Andrews and Ogden Museum Board Chair, Jessie Haynes. A live auction by the renowned auctioneer, Nicholas Lowry of Swann Auction Galleries and Antiques Roadshow fame, will feature exclusive, major works from Southern artists including Katrina Andry, Michael J. Deas, George Dunbar, Simon Gunning, Gina Phillips, Ashley Pridmore and more. The Delachaise will provide their famous goose-fat Pommes Frites as a late-night snack for patrons.
Contributions to O What a Night! Gala 2022 provide critical funds for Ogden Museum of Southern Art’s award-winning educational programs and the Museum’s dynamic exhibitions of Southern painting, photography, sculpture and more.
“It’s a pleasure and honor to serve as co-chair with Jason Waguespack for this year’s O What a Night! Gala. It is the dedication that the Museum has to broadening the knowledge, understanding and appreciation of the visual arts and culture of the South that encourages and inspires me. The evening is not only a celebration of the very best in Southern art, music and food, but also raises support for the Museum’s educational mission. I believe no one does it better and I look forward to a grand evening celebrating the artist,” says Penny Francis, co-chair of O What a Night! Gala.
The gala committee includes Suzie & Ted Bloch III M.D., Susan & Ralph Brennan, Joey & Buzzy Brown, Tracy Copeland, Mathilde & Richard Currence, Beverly Dale, Catherine & Chad Edmonson, Monica Ann Frois & Eve Masinter, Jessie & Beau Haynes, Daynese & Randy Haynie, Shannon Moon, Dale A. Mott & Kenneth P. Hyle, Betsy Nalty & Richard Simmons, Michelle & Field Ogden, Roger H. Ogden & Ken Barnes, Judith Oudt, Fran & Mark Scofield, Nathalie Simon, Holly & Geoffrey P. Snodgrass and Dawn Adams Wheelahan.
To purchase tickets to O What a Night! Gala 2022, please visit https://ogdenmuseum.org.
About Ogden Museum of Southern Art
Located in the vibrant Warehouse Arts District of downtown New Orleans, Louisiana since 1999 and open to the public since 2003, Ogden Museum of Southern Art invites visitors to experience and learn about the artists and culture of the American South. Ogden Museum is home to a collection of more than four thousand works, making it the largest and most comprehensive repository dedicated to Southern art in the nation, with particular strength in the genres of Self-Taught art, Regionalism, photography, and contemporary art. The Museum is further recognized for its original exhibitions, public events and educational programs, which examine the development of visual art alongside Southern traditions of music, literature and local craft.
The Museum is located at 925 Camp Street, New Orleans, Louisiana 70130. For more information visit ogdenmuseum.org or call 504.539.9650.
About George Dunbar
George Dunbar was born in New Orleans, Louisiana in 1927. He studied at the Tyler School of Art at Temple University and later received a BFA in painting from the Grande Chaumiere in Paris in 1953.
Since his first solo exhibition in Philadelphia in 1953, Dunbar’s artwork has been displayed in museums, galleries and exhibits around the world, including a one man show on his works in gold leaf, Elements of Chance, displayed at the New Orleans Museum of Art, and George Dunbar: Southern Masters Series displayed at Ogden Museum of Southern Art. His public works can be viewed at such esteemed Museums as the British Museum, Ogden Museum of Southern Art, New Orleans Museum of Art and The Whitney Museum of American Art.
Dunbar received the Governor’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2008 for his contributions to art and culture in Louisiana. He was also awarded the Delgado Society’s Distinguished Art Award by the New Orleans Museum of Art in 2001. He has taught at 331 Art School in New Orleans, Isidore Newman School and Tulane University.
Dunbar currently works and resides on Bayou Bonfouca in Slidell, Louisiana, and is represented by Callan Contemporary in New Orleans, Louisiana.