New Orleans Museum of Art
Encyclopedia
The New Orleans Museum of Art (or NOMA) is the oldest fine arts museum in the city of New Orleans
. It is situated within City Park, a short distance from the intersection of Carrollton Avenue
and Esplanade Avenue
, and near the terminus of the "Canal Street - City Park" streetcar line
. It was established in 1911 as the Delgado Museum of Art.
. The museum building itself was partly designed by the former chief engineer of New Orleans Benjamin Morgan Harrod
.
The museum includes the Sydney and Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden, a 5 acres (20,234.3 m²) landscaped area behind the main building. The gated garden features fifty modern sculptures set among live oaks, pines, magnolias, camellias, lagoons, several bridges, and a walking trail.
The museum also includes a gift shop, a small theater for film screenings, and the "Courtyard Cafe: A Ralph Brennan Restaurant."
Although City Park suffered extensive damage from Hurricane Katrina
, the museum is elevated and located on relatively high ground. As such, flooding was restricted to the basement, and most of the museum's permanent collection was not affected by the storm.
, Picasso, Matisse, Pissarro, Rodin
, Gauguin, Braque
, Dufy
, Miró
, Jackson Pollock
, Mary Cassatt
, and Georgia O'Keeffe
. The museum features a comprehensive survey of French art, including several important works by the French Impressionist Edgar Degas, who lived with his mother's family in New Orleans between 1871 and 1872.
Among the permanent exhibition is a survey of local Louisiana artists, as well as other American artists. The museum also features collections of photography, glass, ceramics, Fabergé eggs, portrait miniatures, Native American Art, Central American art from pre-Columbian
and Spanish
eras, Chinese ceramics, Japanese painting
, Indian sculpture
and folk arts from Africa, Indonesia, and the South Pacific.
and the Louisiana State Museum
, in developing its special exhibitions. Special exhibitions in the past have included the treasures of Tutankhamun
's tomb, relics of Alexander the Great and his times, artifacts from the Louisiana Purchase
and that era, a retrospective of Edgar Degas
in Louisiana, "Femme! Femme! Femme!" featuring depictions of women in 18th century French painting, "Carneval!" focusing on pre-Lent
en festivals across several European and American cultures (including Mardi Gras in New Orleans
), and several anniversary exhibitions related to Hurricane Katrina
.
The museum offers guided group tours, teacher workshops, online teacher guides, and visits to local schools through a museum-on-wheels known as "Van Go." The museum also hosts festivals, film screenings, music programs, lectures, and wellness activities
New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The New Orleans metropolitan area has a population of 1,235,650 as of 2009, the 46th largest in the USA. The New Orleans – Metairie – Bogalusa combined statistical area has a population...
. It is situated within City Park, a short distance from the intersection of Carrollton Avenue
Carrollton Avenue
Carrollton Avenue is a major thoroughfare stretching across the Uptown/Carrollton and Mid-City districts of New Orleans. South Carrollton Avenue runs from St. Charles Avenue in the Riverbend in a northeast lakebound direction through Carrollton and into Mid-City...
and Esplanade Avenue
Esplanade Avenue, New Orleans
-History:Esplanade runs from the Mississippi River front to the intersection with Carrollton Avenue just past Bayou St. John, and the entrance to City Park. In the 19th century it was important as a portage route of trade between the Bayou which linked to Lake Pontchartrain and the River...
, and near the terminus of the "Canal Street - City Park" streetcar line
Streetcars in New Orleans
Streetcars in New Orleans have been an integral part of the city's public transportation network since the first half of the 19th century. The longest of New Orleans' streetcar lines, the St. Charles Avenue Streetcar, is the oldest continuously operating street railway system in the world,...
. It was established in 1911 as the Delgado Museum of Art.
Museum
The New Orleans Museum of Art was initially funded through a charitable grant by local philanthropist and art collector Isaac DelgadoIsaac Delgado
Isaac Delgado was a businessman and sugar planter who migrated from Jamaica to New Orleans in the late 19th century. His success in business made him sufficiently wealthy to become a significant benefactor with philanthropic interests in the arts, medicine, and education.He founded the New...
. The museum building itself was partly designed by the former chief engineer of New Orleans Benjamin Morgan Harrod
Benjamin Morgan Harrod
Benjamin Morgan Harrod was an American civil engineer who from 1895 to 1902 directed the construction of the water and sewerage systems in his native New Orleans, Louisiana....
.
The museum includes the Sydney and Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden, a 5 acres (20,234.3 m²) landscaped area behind the main building. The gated garden features fifty modern sculptures set among live oaks, pines, magnolias, camellias, lagoons, several bridges, and a walking trail.
The museum also includes a gift shop, a small theater for film screenings, and the "Courtyard Cafe: A Ralph Brennan Restaurant."
Although City Park suffered extensive damage from Hurricane Katrina
Levee failures in Greater New Orleans, 2005
In 29 August 2005 there were over 50 failures of the levees and flood walls protecting New Orleans, Louisiana, and its suburbs following passage of Hurricane Katrina and landfall in Mississippi. The levee and flood wall failures caused flooding in 80% of New Orleans and all of St. Bernard Parish...
, the museum is elevated and located on relatively high ground. As such, flooding was restricted to the basement, and most of the museum's permanent collection was not affected by the storm.
Collection
The permanent collection at the museum features over 40,000 objects, from the Italian Renaissance to the modern era. The museum is noted for its collection of European and American works, including works by Degas, Monet, RenoirRenoir
-People with the surname Renoir :* Pierre-Auguste Renoir , French painter* Pierre Renoir , French actor and son of Pierre-Auguste Renoir* Jean Renoir , French film director and son of Pierre-Auguste Renoir...
, Picasso, Matisse, Pissarro, Rodin
Auguste Rodin
François-Auguste-René Rodin , known as Auguste Rodin , was a French sculptor. Although Rodin is generally considered the progenitor of modern sculpture, he did not set out to rebel against the past...
, Gauguin, Braque
Georges Braque
Georges Braque[p] was a major 20th century French painter and sculptor who, along with Pablo Picasso, developed the art style known as Cubism.-Early Life:...
, Dufy
Raoul Dufy
Raoul Dufy[p] was a French Fauvist painter. He developed a colorful, decorative style that became fashionable for designs of ceramics and textiles, as well as decorative schemes for public buildings. He is noted for scenes of open-air social events...
, Miró
Joan Miró
Joan Miró i Ferrà was a Spanish Catalan painter, sculptor, and ceramicist born in Barcelona.Earning international acclaim, his work has been interpreted as Surrealism, a sandbox for the subconscious mind, a re-creation of the childlike, and a manifestation of Catalan pride...
, Jackson Pollock
Jackson Pollock
Paul Jackson Pollock , known as Jackson Pollock, was an influential American painter and a major figure in the abstract expressionist movement. During his lifetime, Pollock enjoyed considerable fame and notoriety. He was regarded as a mostly reclusive artist. He had a volatile personality, and...
, Mary Cassatt
Mary Cassatt
Mary Stevenson Cassatt was an American painter and printmaker. She lived much of her adult life in France, where she first befriended Edgar Degas and later exhibited among the Impressionists...
, and Georgia O'Keeffe
Georgia O'Keeffe
Georgia Totto O'Keeffe was an American artist.Born near Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, O'Keeffe first came to the attention of the New York art community in 1916, several decades before women had gained access to art training in America’s colleges and universities, and before any of its women artists...
. The museum features a comprehensive survey of French art, including several important works by the French Impressionist Edgar Degas, who lived with his mother's family in New Orleans between 1871 and 1872.
Among the permanent exhibition is a survey of local Louisiana artists, as well as other American artists. The museum also features collections of photography, glass, ceramics, Fabergé eggs, portrait miniatures, Native American Art, Central American art from pre-Columbian
Pre-Columbian
The pre-Columbian era incorporates all period subdivisions in the history and prehistory of the Americas before the appearance of significant European influences on the American continents, spanning the time of the original settlement in the Upper Paleolithic period to European colonization during...
and Spanish
Spanish colonization of the Americas
Colonial expansion under the Spanish Empire was initiated by the Spanish conquistadores and developed by the Monarchy of Spain through its administrators and missionaries. The motivations for colonial expansion were trade and the spread of the Christian faith through indigenous conversions...
eras, Chinese ceramics, Japanese painting
Japanese painting
is one of the oldest and most highly refined of the Japanese visual arts, encompassing a wide variety of genres and styles. As with the history of Japanese arts in general, the long history of Japanese painting exhibits synthesis and competition between native Japanese aesthetics and adaptation of...
, Indian sculpture
Sculpture in India
The first sculptures in the Indian subcontinent date back to the Indus Valley civilization, where stone and bronze carvings have been discovered. This is one of the earliest instances of sculpture in the world. Later, as Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism developed further, India produced some of the...
and folk arts from Africa, Indonesia, and the South Pacific.
Events
The museum works in close collaboration with other local museums, especially the The Historic New Orleans CollectionThe Historic New Orleans Collection
The Historic New Orleans Collection is a museum, research center, and publisher dedicated to the study and preservation of the history and culture of New Orleans and the Gulf South region of the United States. It is located in New Orleans' French Quarter. The institution was established in 1966...
and the Louisiana State Museum
Louisiana State Museum
The Louisiana State Museum , founded in New Orleans in 1906 and still headquartered there, is a complex of National Historic Landmarks housing thousands of artifacts and works of art reflecting Louisiana's legacy of historic events and cultural diversity....
, in developing its special exhibitions. Special exhibitions in the past have included the treasures of Tutankhamun
Tutankhamun
Tutankhamun , Egyptian , ; approx. 1341 BC – 1323 BC) was an Egyptian pharaoh of the 18th dynasty , during the period of Egyptian history known as the New Kingdom...
's tomb, relics of Alexander the Great and his times, artifacts from the Louisiana Purchase
Louisiana Purchase
The Louisiana Purchase was the acquisition by the United States of America of of France's claim to the territory of Louisiana in 1803. The U.S...
and that era, a retrospective of Edgar Degas
Edgar Degas
Edgar Degas[p] , born Hilaire-Germain-Edgar De Gas, was a French artist famous for his work in painting, sculpture, printmaking and drawing. He is regarded as one of the founders of Impressionism although he rejected the term, and preferred to be called a realist...
in Louisiana, "Femme! Femme! Femme!" featuring depictions of women in 18th century French painting, "Carneval!" focusing on pre-Lent
Lent
In the Christian tradition, Lent is the period of the liturgical year from Ash Wednesday to Easter. The traditional purpose of Lent is the preparation of the believer – through prayer, repentance, almsgiving and self-denial – for the annual commemoration during Holy Week of the Death and...
en festivals across several European and American cultures (including Mardi Gras in New Orleans
New Orleans Mardi Gras
Mardi Gras in New Orleans, Louisiana, is a Carnival celebration well-known throughout the world.The New Orleans Carnival season, with roots in preparing for the start of the Christian season of Lent, starts after Twelfth Night, on Epiphany . It is a season of parades, balls , and king cake parties...
), and several anniversary exhibitions related to Hurricane Katrina
Effect of Hurricane Katrina on New Orleans
The effects of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans have been long-lasting. As the center of Katrina passed South-east of New Orleans on August 29, 2005, winds downtown were in the Category 3 range with frequent intense gusts and tidal surge. Hurricane force winds were experienced throughout the...
.
The museum offers guided group tours, teacher workshops, online teacher guides, and visits to local schools through a museum-on-wheels known as "Van Go." The museum also hosts festivals, film screenings, music programs, lectures, and wellness activities