April 15-July 1, 2011

The First Planting by George Rodrigue

The Saga of the Acadians includes fifteen oil paintings by George Rodrigue painted between 1985 and 1989.  The series is loaned for exhibition by the Gauthier Family of New Orleans, Louisiana.  The Gauthier Family purchased the collection in 2007 to pay homage to their Cajun heritage.  The paintings represent the hardships the Acadians encountered in order to preserve their identity after they were exiled from Canada.  In keeping these paintings in one collection, the Gauthier family has made it possible to share the story of the Acadian struggle as depicted by Rodrigue.

On June 2nd, 2011 LA artist, George Rodrigue visited AMoA to give a painting demonstration of his iconic “Blue Dog” while his wife, Wendy spoke about the artist, his work, and the George Rodrigue Foundation of the Arts. This event was free and open to the public. Many joined us at 5:30pm to view the two exhibits: Saga of the Acadians—an illustrated story of the journey from Nova Scotia and the hardships they encountered upon their arrival in Louisiana—and the 2011 finalists in the Foundation’s annual Art Contest for high school students.  The lecture and demonstration began promptly at 6pm, followed by a book signing and chance to meet and greet the artist.  An assortment of George Rodrigue books were available for sale, although many were sold out, several are still available for purchase at the museum.

Click on the link to view more on George rodrigue at AMoA by Dave Curry.