Artists Who Left a Piece of Them in New Orleans

George Rodrigue

He opened his first gallery in New Orleans in 1989. He was born and raised in Louisiana. He is highly known for his Blue Dog series, Cajun culture, and Louisiana landscapes. He has sculptures made of his Blue Dog paintings as well he has created. He has a passion for the city of New Orleans and is a highly respected for his contributions to art education and donating supplies to schools for children. Each one of his pieces tells some sort of story such as a persons state of mind, or current events. 


Photo by: George Rodrigues Studios

Rodrigue has two art galleries in New Orleans that you can go visit now. They are both beautifully made and historic galleries. He opened his dream gallery in 2010, in a gorgeous building in the French Quarter. The two addresses of where his galleries are is 730 Royal Street New Orleans, LA 70116 and 1434 S College Rd. Lafayette, LA 70503.


The Birds of America

The Birds of America is Audubon's first published book. A copy of "The Birds of America" containing 435 hand-colored illustrations was sold for $10.27 million at a 2010 auction, making it the world's most expensive published book. Many of his drawings in this book he had created in New Orleans where he and his family settled for many years.



John James Audubon

John came to New Orleans in 1821. He is known for his skills as an artist with birds in their natural habitats and as an ornithologist. He has tributes in New Orleans such as an aquarium, streets, and a park named after him. He has painted and drawn many different art pieces in New Orleans. The residence of Audubon where he had his studio back in 1821 was a small, brick creole cottage by the Barrack's street house. Unfortunately he does not have a studio there anymore, but he does have a plaque on the building with his name on it still. You can also find his work in other galleries on Royal St in New Orleans. 




Left image: Spell Backwards; Right image: Queezer

James Michalopoulos

Photo by : William Hereford, photographed in his studio in New Orleans.

Michalopoulos has been doing art for New Orleans for the past 35 years. His moody and heavily textured New Orleans streetscapes have made him one of the most recognizable artists in the city. Some of his painting are in the Ogden's Museum of Southern Art. His painting can change the way you view the city of new Orleans. His paintings of buildings seem to sway and they are enchanting to look at. Michalopoulos art gallery is on Bienville St., in New Orleans, LA. It is a beautiful, open gallery where you can walk right into it and see these bright vibrant colors jumping out at you from the white walls. He incorporates a lot of depth and reality in his pieces of the city. It is a perfect piece or art if you are wanting an original New Orleans city piece of remembrance. 

Curtis, Wayne. (2017). The Colorful Far out Vision of James Micahlopalooulus. Garden and Gun Magazine. https://gardenandgun.com/feature/james-michalopoulos/

Heitman, Danny. (2018). John James Audubon. 64 parishes. https://64parishes.org/entry/john-james-audubon

New Orleans Advocate. May 26th. (2017). NOVA. http://blog.lofty.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/banner15.jpg

Pope, John. (2017). John james Audubon. https://www.nola.com/300/article_5be6765f-640a-5016-a74d-4747d15446e1.html

Rodrigues Studios. (2019). Rodrigue. https://georgerodrigue.com/


Emily Swearingen