Volume XVIII, Number 3 Summer 2000

IMPORTANT 1830S

WATERCOLOR ACQUIRED

BY THNOC

A Louisiana Painting Returns Home

Tug Boats at the Balize below New Orleans byAlfred Jacob Miller, watercolor and gouache, between1836-1838 (2000.35)

ften one is familiar with amajor accomplishment with-out knowing the personresponsible for the achieve-ment. Such is the case with

Alfred Jacob Miller (1810-1874), who in1837 was the first artist to go into theRocky Mountains and document theWestern frontier. It turns out that Millerwas catapulted into his project—and hismost s ignif icant accomplishment—because of a trip to New Orleans. Imaginethe surprise and delight of THNOC staffmember Lynn Adams, who visited a Santa Fe art gallery and walked up to apainting that attracted her attention. Shewas startled to discover in New Mexico awatercolor painting called Tug Boats at theBalize below New Orleans. She soon recog-nized the importance of the work, andwith that, the wheels were put into motionto acquire it. This small gem now belongsto the Historic New Orleans Collection.

Miller, son of grocer George H. Millerand Harriet Jacobs Miller, from whom hismiddle name derives, showed such an earlyaptitude for art that his father sent him toEurope to study. Miller, who drew from anearly age, later reminisced about an earlyschoolmaster and stern disciplinarian; herecalled how Dr. John D. Craig would callhim up “to destroy any caricatures that I h a d s c r i b b l e d o n p a p e r — t h e s e w i t h o u t l o o k i n g a t h e w o u l d r o l l up and put in the fire.” A circa 1825 cari-cature of “The Schoolmaster” by the 15-year -o ld Mi l l e r a l ready showedpromise. In 1832 after a year of study withThomas Sully in Baltimore, Miller paintedcompetent portraits of Johns Hopkins, one of Baltimore’s best-known citizens,

and his mother, Mrs. Samuel Hopkins.Mil ler s tudied for a year at the

École des Beaux Arts in Paris, where heclaimed to be the first American allowed tocopy paintings in the Louvre. He alsocopied paintings from the Palais duLuxembourg and became known as “theAmerican Raphael.” His European work,chiefly copies after the old masters, is executed with appreciation and accuracy.In 1834 Miller studied in the English Life School in Rome. He made copiesfrom works in the Vatican, Villa Borghese,and other collections; he visited Bologna,Florence, and Venice, where he copiedTitian’s paintings. His sketchbooks revealstudies after Correggio, Raphael, Ruysdael,Rembrandt, Turner, Reynolds, Lawrence,Giorgione, and Salvator Rosa. He madecop ious note s and s tud ie s o f l i ght effects , especial ly in the manner of Turner. He was a friend of sculptorsAlberto Bertel Thorvaldsen and HoratioGreenough and visited the Greenough studio in Florence.

In 1834 Miller returned to Baltimore,sold copies of famous paintings from hisstudio at 153 Colonade Row in BaltimoreStreet, and illustrated sheet music for hislandlord’s music store. Two years later hesailed from Baltimore on the Plotina toseek his fortune in New Orleans, arrivingin the city on December 6, 1836. He com-mented that “troubles of all kinds hadaccumulated and in order not be burden-some, [he] engaged passage on a merchantship and in a week reached his destinationwith $30 in his pocket.” He rented a stu-dio over L. Chittenden’s Dry Goods Storeat 26 (now 132) Chartres Street inexchange for a portrait of Chittenden

and subsequently received several portraitcommissions.

The following year a man came intothe studio whom Miller thought to be aKentuckian or military man by the stripeon his trousers. While the artist worked,the man walked around the studio lookingat paintings, stopped, pointed toward a painting, and voiced his approval— whereupon he left the studio. The paintingwas a view of Laudenslager’s Hill inBaltimore. Miller at first thought his paint-ing was overly detailed and so had mixedwhite, vermilion, blue, and black andbrushed it across the canvas producing ahazy atmosphere that dissolved detail. Hehad heard of “dry scumbling” but had notpreviously tried it. He compared it toTurner’s misty effects and was pleased withachieving the effects upon which he hadtaken notes during his European studies.

Miller forgot the incident until thegentleman reappeared a few days later andhanded him a card reading “Capt. W. D.Stewart British Army.” Stewart stated thatMiller’s work met his satisfaction andasked Miller to accompany him on a tripto the Rocky Mountains. Stewart, who hadbrought Antoine Clement, a famous west-ern hunter with him, encouraged Miller tosee John Crawford, the British consul inNew Or leans . Mi l l e r l ea rned f romCrawford that Wil l iam DrummondStewart was a wealthy Scottish nobleman,heir to a baronetcy, and stood in line toinherit Murthly Castle, near Perthshire inScotland. Stewart, then 37 years old, was aretired officer of the British Army, a veteranof Wellington’s Peninsular campaigns andof the victory at Waterloo, and fourth-season traveler to the Rocky Mountains

2

O

A Louisiana PaintingReturns Home

during the last of the great fur trade period. He came to America “for the solepurpose of penetrating the great wildernessof the West.” Stewart wanted enlargedsketches of the wondrous scenes of thePlains Indians to place on the walls of hiscastle in Scotland. Miller had not seen thework of George Catlin and had neverheard of Karl Bodmer, both of whom pre-ceded him west. Few people had seenCatlin’s paintings by 1837. Bodmer, whomade his trip with Prince Maximilian ofWied-Neuwied, was back in Paris, and hisengraved and colored pictures would notbe seen for another three years. Becauseneither Catlin nor Bodmer went fartherwest than upper Missouri, they only knewand drew the conditions in the plains. Thelife of the fur trader was not depictedbefore Miller’s 1837 journey to theRockies.

The American Fur Company of St.Louis conferred upon Captain Stewart thecommand of a l a rge par ty o f we l l -equipped men and numerous wagonsladen with valuable goods to exchange forpelts in Oregon. Final preparations weremade at Westpor t , a v i l lage on theextreme frontier of the United States—the men were organized and additional

horses and mules were purchased for thelong journey over the western wilderness.Miller accompanied Stewart to St. Louis,Wyoming, and Oregon, making morethan 200 sketches, among the earliestrecords of the Indians before settlementby white men. Miller was the first to pen-etrate the fur trade country—the RockyMountains—and he was the first to por-tray trappers and Indian mountain meet-ing places. He depicted life among theSioux (Dakota), Delawares, Snakes, andCrows, among others.

After the expedition, Stewart returnedto Murthly Castle in Perthshire, havingsucceeded to the baronetcy on the death ofhis elder brother. Miller went back to NewOrleans where he made paintings from thesketches, before moving to Baltimore,where he exhibited the paintings withmuch success, enjoying the same success inNew York. In 1840-1841 he took an

extended trip to Scotland and continuedpainting at Murthly Castle. Upon return-ing once again to Baltimore, he enjoyed apronounced reputation until his death in1874.

Although Miller’s reputation fadedafter his death, his accomplishmentsreceived attention in the 1940s and by the1960s almost all books written about theFar West were illustrated with his oils orwatercolors. By then Miller’s works were inmajor exhibitions and in many collections,including the Walters Art Gallery inBaltimore and the Thomas GilcreaseInstitute of American History and Art inTulsa, the Joslyn Museum of Art inOmaha, the Public Archives of Canada atOttawa, and the Beinecke Rare Books andManuscripts Library at Yale.

The small watercolor and gouachepainting of the Balize was painted sometimebetween Miller’s December 1836 arrival andhis 1838 return trip to New Orleans. Itshows sailing ships being towed by an earlytype of steam tugboat. It also shows a “ghostship” at the far left, the ship being made hazythrough the scumbling technique that Millerfirst learned in New Orleans. The churningwaters near a buoy in the foreground appearlimpid and animated. The entire sketch,showing a view rarely depicted of the mouthof the Mississippi, appropriately has made itsreturn to the city from whence it originated.

—Judith H. Bonner________Sources: Parke-Bernet Galleries, Inc., A Series ofWatercolour Drawings by Alfred Jacob Miller, ofBaltimore: Artist to Captain Stewart’s Expedition to theRockies in 1837 (New York, 1966); Karen DeweesReynolds, Alfred Jacob Miller: Artist on the OregonTrail, edited by Ron Tyler, with a catalogue raisonnéby Karen Dewees Reynolds and Will iam R.Johnston (Fort Worth, Texas, 1982); Marvin C.Ross, The West of Alfred Jacob Miller (1837), from thenotes and watercolors in the Walters Art Gallery(Norman, Okla.,1967); THNOC Artists Files(1836-1838).

3

Detail, above and below, Tug Boats at the Balize below New Orleans by Alfred Jacob Miller

Gilbert C. Din has been awarded the1999 Kemper and Leila Williams Prize inLouisiana History for his work Spaniards,Planters, and Slaves: The Spanish Regulationof Slavery in Louisiana, 1763-1803, pub-lished by Texas A & M University Press in1999. Dr. Din’s book was selected fromeight entries on a variety of subjects. Dr.Din received his award on March 24,2000, at the annual meeting of theLouisiana Historical Association inLafayette, Louisiana. The Williams Prize isan annual award given by the LouisianaHistorical Association and the HistoricNew Orleans Collection. The award con-sists of a plaque and $1500.

Gilbert C. Din, professor emeritus ofFort Lewis College in Colorado, continuesto conduct research on the history ofLouisiana. He received his Ph.D. from theUniversity of Madrid and has written sev-eral books and many articles on colonialLouisiana. He becomes the first two-timerecipient of the Williams Prize for a bookentry, having received the prize in 1988 forhis work The Canary Islanders of Louisiana(LSU Press, 1988).

John H. Lawrence, director of muse-um programs at the Historic New OrleansCollection coordinated the prize competi-tion. Entries were evaluated in three cate-gories with a maximum of ten points each:Louisiana content, historical significance,and overall scholarly merit.

Jurors for the 1999 prize competitionwere Dr. Richard Bienvenu of the historydepartment at the University of Missouri atColumbia and Dr. Roman Heleniak fromSoutheastern Louisiana University’s historydepartment in Hammond. The jurors wereselected by LHA President Scott Legan of thehistory faculty of the University of Louisianaat Monroe. In referring to Dr. Din’s work,Professor Heleniak commented, “I reachedthe point where I was arrogant enough to

think I knew the essentials aboutslavery, and then Professor Dinopened my eyes to the facts con-cerning slavery under Spanishrule that astounded me.” Dr.Bienvenu, in summarizing thesignificance of this work, stated,

“Like all of his previous contributions to ourknowledge of Louisiana history, this book isthe work of a scholar who not only has a profound, broad, and intimate knowledge ofthe documentary evidence for the eighteenthcentury, but who also has shown a deeprespect for his sources and the people whocreated them—which does not, of course,mean an uncritical respect.”

Deadline for the 2000 Williams Prizein Louisiana history is January 15,2001. Forms may be downloadedfrom the Williams Prize selection ofthe Historic New Orleans Collection’sweb site (www.hnoc.org) or may berequested by mail. Please addressinquiries to: Chair, Williams PrizeCommittee, Historic New OrleansCollection, 533 Royal Street, NewOrleans, LA 70130. Early submissionsare encouraged.

4

GILBERT C. DIN AWARDEDKEMPER AND LEILA WILLIAMS PRIZE

5

FROM THE DIRECTOR

In anticipation of thecelebration of the

bicentennia l of theLouisiana Purchase in2003, the Historic NewOrleans Collection isamong those reachingout to the entire Louisiana Purchase territoryto shine a spotlight on our shared past. In arecent visit to St. Louis we found a commu-nity anxious to relate its rich colonial her-itage and pivotal role in the launching ofwestward expansion to the rest of the world.

In 1763, some 45 years after the found-ing of New Orleans, the city of St. Louis wasestablished on the west bank of theMississippi River opposite the earlier Frenchvillage of Cahokia in present-day Illinois. St.Louis, named for Louis IX, king of France,would prove to be the de facto capital city ofUpper Louisiana, or the “pays Illinois” as itwas commonly called. The settlement wasestablished by the fur-trading firm ofMaxent, Leclede and Company of NewOrleans. Remnants of the early French pres-ence in both St. Louis and New Orleansreflect the common threads of colonial his-tory. We look forward to a wonderful col-laboration with our new friends and col-leagues in St. Louis.

All who journeyed to France for theLouisiana History Tour met with greatweather, interesting sites, and the encoreperformance of “Journée d’Étude.” Theseelements combined to provide an excellentstudy tour for everyone. Plans are nearcompletion for next year’s annual WilliamsResearch Center Symposium on Spain andLouis iana. Mark your ca lendar forSaturday, January 20, 2001!

And watch for plans leading up to2003. The January symposium, 2002, willfeature historical relations betweenCanada and Louisiana, and the plans for2003 include a three-day exploration ofthe importance of the Louisiana Purchasepresented in a partnership with theLouisiana Historical Association and theInternational Center for Jefferson Studiesat Monticello.

—Priscilla Lawrence

SPANISH LANGUAGE CHURCH RECORDSA Workshop for Non-Spanish Speaking Genealogists

Claire Mire Bettag, CGRS, is a certified genealogical researcher based in Washington,D.C., who has written and lectured extensively for national, regional, and local audiences.This two-hour workshop will help researchers learn to extract basic genealogical data—names, dates, places, and other details—from church records written in Spanish. Included inthe discussion will be baptismal, marriage, and burial records from the Louisiana Spanishcolonial period, as well as records from Spain. Designed at the fundamental level, the sessionwill be geared to researchers who have no operative Spanish language skills.

Williams Research Center, 410 Chartres Street, Saturday, August 5, 2000, 9:30 a.m.Limited seating. Please call 504-598-7171 for reservations.

The research center will not be open to researchers until 1:00 p.m.

THIRD SATURDAYA CONTINUING PROGRAM AT THE HISTORIC NEW ORLEANS COLLECTION

410 CHARTRES STREET

9:30 – 11:00 a.m.An introduction to research at the Williams Research Center, each session includes an orientationto the book, manuscript, and visual image collections. The final portion of each session focuses ona particular resource. August 19: William Russell Jazz Collection: A Source forCommunity History; September 16: Women in New Orleans; October 21: LatinAmerica and New Orleans.

Sessions are held in the reading room of the Williams Research Center. Enrollment is limited.Please call (504) 598-7171 for reservations. Light refreshments follow. The reading roomwill open to the public at noon.

The following videotapes of Third Saturday presentations at THNOC are available forviewing in the reading room of the Williams Research Center: Neighborhoods; Visual Arts;THNOC Photographic Collections; Sources for the Study of Mardi Gras; Sources for theStudy of New Orleans in the 1850s; the Ursuline Library; the French Quarter in the 20th cen-tury; and New Orleans at War in the 20th Century. Additional videotapes are Claire Bettag’sGuide to Research in France; Symposium 1999: Havana and New Orleans; Symposium 2000:France and Louisiana, and Dr. Michael M. White’s lecture on Jelly Roll Morton.

In April the Historic New Orleans Collection purchased two buildings in the French Quarter, 616 Toulouse Street and525-533 Chartres Street. The adjoining buildings were once part of the WDSU-TV complex of buildings. The proper-ties will be renovated for Collection use. Pictured at the act of sale are, standing, Priscilla Lawrence, John E. Walker,Fred Smith, and seated, Mary Louise Christovich and Emile A.Wagner, attorney for the Collection.

The volatility of today’s financialmarkets is a topic for discussionthroughout the news media. The

rapid assimilation of information tech-nologies into mainstream business prac-tices is driving a booming economy thatcauses talk of inflated profits, artificialstock values, and the possible emergence ofa 21st-century economic bubble.

An 18th-century financial boom thatactually did collapse—the subject of abeautifully illustrated broadside in theCollection’s holdings—sheds light on thefailure known as the Mississippi Bubble.

In 1717, the Company of the Westwas formed under the direction of theDuke of Orleans, regent of France, todevelop the Louisiana colony, with JohnLaw, who had organized the Bank ofFrance, as the mastermind behind thecompany. Investors, hoping for instantriches, began wildly buying the stock. Thecompany exaggerated the value of thecolony’s assets and seriously over expanded.Unfortunately, Louisiana lacked the precious metals or other quick sources ofriches that could have brought success tothe venture. Thousands of stockholderswere ruined when the “bubble” burst.

The Collection has two copies of the Dutch broadside illustrating theMississippi Bubble of John Law. One copyof the hand-printed plate is printed on aloose sheet, while the other copy is con-tained in a rare publication, Het GrooteTafereel Der Dwaasheid. The book is acompilation of prints, prose, and verserelated to the financial disasters in 1720—

the failures of the South Sea Company inLondon and John Law’s Mississ ippischeme in France, as well as financial diffi-culties in Holland.

The broadside, pictured above,includes a group of people—perhaps someof the speculators—on the banks of theMississippi River with animals and huntersroaming in the background. The Dutchword “windnegotie” (negotiating with thewind), found in the broadside’s title, sug-gests impermanence and the instability ofJohn Law’s company. Scenes from Dutchlife are pictured in four corner insets.

The translation of a few lines from thetext underscores the failure of the infamousbubble:

But Mississippi has been lost…Because people have been brought there

in vainBecause there is no gold or silver to

be found…It’s wind, and smoke and nothing more.

—Gerald Patout

Translation:Hanneke Hoxworth - Pieket Weeserik

6

TheMississippi

Bubblein

Words andPictures

Dutch broadside (95-227-RL)

Fo r c l o s e t o 2 0 y e a r s S u eLaudeman, as manager of theShop, has greeted customers ,

p r o m o t e d t h e o f f e r i n g s o f t h eCollection, and served as the unofficialambassador of Royal Street. Smiles,o p t i m i s m , a n d g e n e r o s i t y — h e r trademarks—now will serve her well as she embarks on the Col lect ion’s latest venture, an extended educationaloutreach program. Her office, on thetop floor of the 1790s Merieult House,i s f i l l ed with “treasures” she p lans to take to the c las s room. Her new position is part of the department ofmuseum programs.

Sue Laudeman grew up in NewOrleans, graduated with distinctionfrom Sophie Newcomb College, andreceived a Woodrow Wilson Fellowshipupon graduation. In the early part ofher career she was a social worker andcoordinated a clinic for emotionallydisturbed children. She also worked atthe Be l l e Cha s s e St a t e Schoo l fo rRe ta rded Chi ld ren and fo r Ea s t e rSeals, where she developed a scoliosisscreening program and organized awheelchair basketball team.

In 1978 a visit to the Collectionwith members of the Junior Leagueturned out to be a propitious event.This was on Friday. On Monday, Suecalled to find out if the Collectionneeded any volunteers and two weekslater joined the staff as a docent. “Ispent day and night studying—that’show I am.” That determined focuspaid off during her first tour when shediscovered the head of the hi s toryd e p a r t m e n t a t a l o c a l u n i v e r s i t yrecording her remarks. “I remember,”she says, “that I was talking about theC a n e R i v e r ” — a n a r e a i n c e n t r a lLouisiana that was home to a thriving19th-century community of free peo-ple of color.

A few years later, the Collection’sdirector asked Sue to help with theShop’s books and eventually to managean expanded museum store that wouldmove, in 1981, to the space locatednext to the main entrance at 533 Royal

Street. With Sue Laudeman behind thecounter, sprinkling her sales talk withLouisiana history, the Shop became afixture in the French Quarter.

She is now directing her energytoward the city’s school children. “Iwant to be a part of educating our chil-dren. I want to do something!” shesays. Although the program is still inthe planning stage, she talks about spe-c i f i c , hands-on act iv i t i e s that wi l linterest even the youngest students,such as history boxes filled with com-monplace items no longer in use. Shetalks about students becoming “detec-tives, continually searching for clues toour past,” aided by primary documentsand oral histories. She is a storyteller at heart. One of the stories she wantsto te l l wi l l be about Jean FrançoisMerieult—first owner of the MerieultHouse—and about his neighborhoodon Royal Street.

Sue Laudeman and her husband,Elliott, are the parents of two marrieddaughters and the grandparents of twograndsons. An eccentric dog is alsopart of the family.

At home and at the Collection, Sueis known for her cooking and entertain-ing skills. In 1994, inspired by an exhibi-tion at THNOC and a newspaper articleoutlining menus from well-known NewOrleans hostesses of the past, she pro-duced Elegant Entertaining Along St.Charles Avenue: Authentic Menus and1890s Recipes From the Garden District ofNew Orleans. She was guest chef at theHermann-Grima House during a pro-motional event for Elegant Entertaining.And she p lanned and cooked for a staff party to honor Priscilla Lawrence when she was chosen director of theCollection. Not surprisingly, she serveson the culinary history committee of theNewcomb College Center for Researchon Women.

As she descr ibes a rec ipe f rom t h e 1 8 9 0 s , y o u r e a l i z e w i t h o u t a doubt that the Collection’s plan to takehistory to the schools couldn’t be inbetter hands.

—Louise C. Hoffman

7

SUE LAUDEMAN

PROFILE

Creole aristocrats, the builders of the greatplantations along the Mississippi River,and the numerous 18th- and 19th-centurypolitical and social leaders of New Orleans.When we looked at the por t ra i t o fPenelope Lynch Adams, the wife of JohnAndrews who built Belle Grove, one of themost romanticized of the great plantations,I commented that Mr. Andrews may havebeen rich and married a Virginia aristocrat(Lynchburg was named for her family), buthe sure did not have very good taste! Why?Because he chose C. R. Parker to paint hiswife’s portrait. At about the same period,circa 1839, Jacques Amans was paintingthe entire family of Valcour Aime at LePetit Versailles as well as the Pugh family ofMadewood Plantation. Better yet, he couldhave taken his wife to New Orleans to sitfor Jean J. Vaudechamp. All of Parker’s

portraits of women look alike and all aremodeled after fashion plates from contem-p o r a r y p u b l i c a t i o n s . I f A m a n s o rVaudechamp had painted her, we wouldknow what she really was like, not a styl-ized image. She’d come to life before ourvery eyes.

C. R. Parker made his livelihood usu-ally traveling in and out of the smallAmerican towns where he did not havesuch strong competition as he found inNew Orleans, especially in the 1830s and1840s when so many portrait painters werelured to this jewel box at the mouth of thegreat river. John Andrews either did notcare much about art or he had no eye forquality when it came to portrait painting,or he would never have chosen Parker asthe artist.

So after years of studying these

Louisiana portraits, here is a list, roughlyby decade, from 1790 through 1900 of thefinest artists who should have painted yourancestors if they had superb—not justgood—taste in art and if they never ventured beyond South Louisiana in searchof art. (Many of these artists painted beforeand after these dates, as well.)

1790-1800: very little selection butyou must have at least one member of yourfamily painted by José Francisco Salazar;

1800-1810: miniature portraits byAmbrose Duval;

1810-1820: miniature portraits byJean François Vallée, large portraits byWilliam Edward West, and Matthew H.Jouett;

1820-1830: miniature or large portraits by Louis Antoine Collas or by the seasonal visitors from the north, John Wesley Jarvis, Henry Inman, andJohn Vanderlyn;

1830-1840: Jean Joseph Vaude-champ. This is an absolute must! He wasthe finest portrait painter to work consistently in New Orleans;

1840-1850: Jacques Amans or visitingartists Joseph Henry Bush and George P.A. Healy;

1850-1860: François Bernard,Théodore Sidney Moïse, or BenjaminFranklin Reinhart;

1860-1900: Paul Poincy and AndresMolinary (after the Civil War more artistsbegan to work from photographs andexcept for Poincy, Molinary, and thosementioned above still working, the qualityof portrait painting declines);

Many of these overlap in dates. So, ifyou want to shorten the list and strip awaya few decades, Salazar, Vaudechamp,Bernard, and Poincy are de rigueur.

If you have three or four generationsportrayed by these four artists you cantruly say that your ancestors had superbtaste in art. So, who will you choose to por tray your wi fe and chi ldren?Remember, it is a matter of taste.

—George E. Jordan

George Jordan is a fine arts consultant and art historian.

8

you can’t have a pyramid, a portraitis the next best thing. I made that state-ment over 30 years ago while trainingmuseum docents and I still believe it istrue. The painted or sculptured image ofyou that remains for future generationssays more than that autobiography youwill never find time to write. My first lovefor portraits began in the movies of myyouth. Most all of my favorite movies hada plot or major event centered around aportrait of the beautiful heroine. JenniferJones in A Portrait of Jennie, Gene Tierneyin Laura, that gorgeous life-sized sculptureof Ava Gardner in The Barefoot Contessa,and who could forget the moment in GoneWith the Wind when Rhett Butler, in frus-

tration, hurls his brandyglass at the huge portrait ofSca r l e t t O’Hara wh ichadorned his bedroom in theAtlanta mansion?

I remember in my earlyteens, approaching an olderlady at the information desk in the MetropolitanMuseum of Art and asking,“Please, I’d like to see theportrait of Jennie.” Her eyesglistened, she too had obvi-ously seen the beautifulmovie but to my dismay, shesmiled and kindly replied,“There is no portrait ofJennie, that was only in the book and movie.” I was crushed.

I have often wonderedif these movie prop portraitscould be culled from collec-tors and exhibited with thefilm clips that made them

famous. Many still exist. As late as the1970s, the portrait of Scarlett was hangingin an Atlanta High School named forMargaret Mitchell. Many of these paint-ings, like some of our movie stars, do notlook as good off screen as they do on. Ofcourse, if you are as beautiful as JenniferJones, Gene Tierney, Ava Gardner, andVivien Leigh, any artist with skill canprobably guarantee you a spot on the wallof some future collection.

But if your looks are not the sort thatscreen legends are made of, the choice ofthe artist who will make your imageimmor t a l i s more impor t an t t h an you think. That choice will tell more about your knowledge and taste than you

might suspect.Think what fun (and value) if your

great-great-grandparents had been paintedby John Singer Sargent or James McNeillWhistler? Few of us can brag that we hadrelatives with such fine taste. Do we carewhen we look at the sitter in a painting bythese two greats in the art world if the like-ness is exact? A hundred years later it doesnot matter. What does matter is whetherthe artists can create from your image awork of art superb and interesting enoughthat those who do not know you will wantto hang it on their wall and enjoy it foritself.

When I was helping the ColonialDames catalogue the Louisiana PortraitIndex in the 1970s (now in the researchlibrary of THNOC), we were having funadmiring the antique images of the early

9

Woman with Fur Boa by Jean Joseph Vaudechamp (1981.233)

Above, Clara de la Motte by José Francisco Xavier de Salazar y Mendoza (1981.213); top left, Clarisse Duralde by Jean François de Vallée (1975.143 i), and top right, W. C. C. Claiborne by Ambrose Duval (1975.142); and bottom right, Creole Gentleman by François Bernard (1997.120.8)

IIff

10

THE HISTORIC NEW

ORLEANS COLLECTION

encourages research inthe Williams ResearchCenter at 410 ChartresStreet from 10:00 a.m.to 4:30 p.m. Tuesdayt h r o u g h S a t u r d a y( e x c e p t h o l i d a y s ) .

Cata loged mate r i a l s ava i l ab l e toresearchers include books, manuscripts,paintings, prints, drawings, maps, pho-tographs, and artifacts about the historyand culture of New Orleans, Louisiana,and the Gulf South. Each year theCollection adds thousands of items to itsholdings by donation or purchase. Only afew recent acquisitions can be noted here.

Ferdinand Joseph La Menthe [La Mothe],better known as “Jelly Roll” Morton(1890?-1941), is recognized as one of thefirst jazz composers. His early years as apianist in Storyville were followed by suc-cess in the 1920s with his Red Hot Peppersband in Chicago and an unfortunatedecline in the 1930s. Morton’s influencecan be traced through generations of musi-cians. Bill Russell (1905-1992) paid trib-ute to Morton by conducting extensiveresearch to complete a book shortly beforehis death in 1992. Items related to Mortonin the William Russell Jazz Collectioninclude correspondence, manuscriptmusic, interviews with musicians aboutJelly Roll Morton, published orchestra-tions, song lyrics, and photographs.

T h r e e d o n a t i o n s i n c r e a s e t h eCollection’s holdings on Morton. WilliamWagner, Bill Russell’s brother, donatedRussell’s working papers for Oh, MisterJelly: A Jelly Roll Morton Scrapbook pub-lished in 1999. Jeanne Ford donated a JellyRoll Morton scrapbook that contains newsclippings, letters, fliers, business cards,membership cards, telegrams, receipts,press releases, photographs, and contractsbelonging to Morton. The contents mainly

chronicle 1935 to 1940, a period whenMorton was trying to regain his formerprominence. Included is a five-page March1938 letter from Morton to Robert L.Ripley (1893-1949) defending his claim tobe the originator of jazz after W. C. Handy(1873-1958) was introduced with that titleon Ripley’s radio program. The controversywas the subject of several magazine andnewspaper articles in the scrapbook. Fanletters and postcards document the esteemi n w h i c h M o r t o n w a s h e l d .Correspondence and news clippings revealproblems being addressed by the AmericanFederation of Musicians. A letter writtenafter April 1936 from his brother-in-law,

J. P. Oliver, M.D., offers advice on histrouble with the union and suggests thatMorton come to Lubbock, Texas, to recov-er his health. He did not fully recover hishealth or his former popularity. The thirddonation, consisting of Morton’s funeralregistry, a list of band members, and notescomes from Mike Ford.

Brooke Duncan III has donated thecivic and community papers of his grand-father, Richard R. Foster (1889-1966).Approximately two linear feet of files doc-ument Foster’s strong involvement in vari-ous community activities. Foster foundedthe Metropolitan Crime Commission andserved as director of the welfare depart-

ACQUISITIONS

MANUSCRIPTS

Memorabilia from Jelly Roll Morton scrapbook (2000-17-L)

11

ment, vice-chairman of the HousingAuthority of New Orleans, chairman ofthe district advisory committee of theWorks Projects Administration’s Divisionof Community Service, and was appointedby Gov. Jimmie H. Davis (b. 1899) to theState Board of Highways. He also chairedthe Bienville Monument Commission andraised funds for the statue that originallys tood in f ront o f Union Pas sengerTerminal and now located on the triangleof land bounded by Conti, Decatur, andN. Peters Streets. Files relate to theMetropolitan Crime Commission (1954-1966), Bienville Monument Commission,Boy Scouts of America, CommunityChest, Louisiana Civil Services League,Louisiana Landmark Society, TrinityChurch, Tulane Univers i ty, UnitedNations Relief and Rehabilitation, WorksProgress Administration, and minutes ofthe Mayor’s Special Citizens’ CommitteeMeeting, 1950.

The Courrier des Etats Unis was aFrench-language newspaper published inNew York that reported cultural activitiesin the United States. A bound volume con-taining 1884-1885 issues has been donatedby Charlette Godurowski.

—M. Theresa LeFevre

Justine and Richard McCarthy donated animportant lithograph celebrating theAmerican victory at the Battle of NewOrleans. The lithograph, Defeat of theBritish Army, 12,000 strong, under the com-mand of Sir Edward Packenham [sic]…wasprinted in 1817 by Jean HyacintheLaclot te and publ i shed in 1818 byPhilibert-Louis Debucourt.

Mr. and Mrs. Charles Fenner Gaydonated a colorful 1970 ClementineHunter acrylic painting showing womencotton pickers, with cotton tumblingthrough the doorway of a nearby shed.

Two videotapes celebrate 1999 events.John Clemmer and Dorothy Clemmerprovided a documentary that accompaniedJohn Clemmer’s retrospective exhibition atthe New Orleans Museum of Art. AshtonPhelps, Jr., gave a video of Mary LouisePh e l p s , 1 9 9 9 Qu e e n o f C a r n i v a l .

Additionally, Oliver H. Dabezies, Jr.,donated a 1997 video celebrating the 50thanniversary of the Southern Eye Bank.

Several gifts increase the photographiccollections. Dalton L. Woolverton gaveaerial views of the Rivergate undergoingdemolition. The construction of theRivergate, designed by Curtis and Davis ofNew Orleans, was completed in 1968.

Christopher Porché-West donated views ofMardi Gras Indians, jazz funerals, andother events. Douglas C. Peterson con-tributed photographs depicting the ship-ping industry, Tulane University, ShushanAirport, Audubon Park, and McClintic-Marshall Steel. Michael Patrykus donated asouvenir plate showing a New Orleanslevee scene between 1890 and 1910, and a

CURATORIAL

Above, Convent and School of the Sisters of Mercy, St. Martinville, Louisiana, ca. 1985, by Carol Gauthier(2000.24.6); below, Women Picking Cotton in Fields, ca. 1970, by Clementine Hunter (2000.3)

12

circa 1939 snapshot of New Orleans pho-tographer A. E. Stewart with polar explorerAdmiral Richard Evelyn Byrd.

John Geiser III gave photographsshowing Samuel Wilson, Jr., in Uxmal,Mexico (January 10, 1993), and a souvenirplate for the 1938 U. S. Eighth NationalEucharistic Congress held in New Orleans.A late 19th-century cabinet portrait of anunidentified bearded gentleman, taken byWilliam Watson Washburn comes fromthe Watkins Community of History inLawrence, Kansas; and from MarcelleD’Aquin Saussy comes a circa 1875 wood-cut advertisement for the WashburnPhotographer’s Art Gallery at 109 CanalStreet, corner of Exchange Alley. She alsogave a drawing of a porter on the coffeedocks on Derby Day, April 18,1936.French Quarter artist Charles Richardsexecuted the drawing, On the Docks atPoydras Street, in charcoal and ink.

Mrs. Joan P. Suter provided items relat-ing to the 1957 Pageant of New OrleansBrides Benefit Scholarship Fund for St.Mary’s Dominican College Association,photographs by Frank Stainton showingMrs. Bruce Suter modeling Mrs. FrancisParkinson Keyes’s wedding gown, andviews of the 1959 Krewe of Proteus nightparade in front of the Holy FamilyConvent on Orleans Street. Leclare BushRatterree III contributed postcard views ofVieux Carré courtyards.

Sister Mary Hermenia Muldrey, RSM,donated objects relating to Mercy Hospitaland the Sisters of Mercy. Photographicportraits portray Leonce M. Soniat, LeonaSaulet Soniat, W. Cameron Byrne, and Dr.Edmund L. Leckert. A gouache paintingby Carol Gauthier shows the Sisters ofMe r c y c o n v e n t a n d s c h o o l i n S t .Martinville. A May 1949 map of NewIberia, Louisiana, and vicinity, printed byJohn M. Rothel and Weldon T. de Blanc,Jr., comes from Gerald F. Patout, Jr.

Mrs. John E. Walker donated a sou-venir pin for the recent inauguration ofGovernor M. J. “Mike” Foster, Jr., andfrom Stephen Archacki comes a porcelainsaucer celebrating the 20th anniversary ofMr. B’s Bistro. Dr. J. W. Rosenthal gavetwo pairs of circa 1835 vintage eyeglasseswith coin silver frames.

At the t ime of her death , Le i l aWilliams was knitting a baby blanket forAnne Villareal, who is the daughter ofAnna Heiduk, the Williamses’ housekeeperat their Santa Barbara, California resi-dence. Mrs. Heiduk and Mrs. Villarealrecently donated the blanket to THNOC.

The latest poster in the EducationThrough Historic Preservation series is thegift of Lloyd Sensat and Eugene Cizek.The poster features the Irish Channel.Items from the Jax Brewery are the gift of

OBITUARY INDEX PROJECTThe Historic New Orleans Collection and the New Orleans Public Library have recently agreed to acooperative venture that will provide computer access via the Internet to the New Orleans PublicLibrary obituary index, a card catalogue now housed in the Louisiana Division at the Main Library.More details about the project will be included in a future issue of the Quarterly.

Library acquisitions include, left, Varieties Theatre broadside, ca. 1860 (2000-54-RL.1); and, right, title page of bookowned by George Washington Sully (2000-41-RL.1)

13

Charles R. Sonnier, a 1960s set of six clearglass tankards and a pitcher bearing etchedimages of General Jackson.

—Judith H. Bonner

Broadsides related to the theater provide ahelpful window into the past. Recentlyacquired is a Varieties Theatre broadside,dated Friday evening, April 19, probablydating from the 1860s. The item is partic-ularly interesting because it is not listed ineither of two major bibliographies relatedto New Orleans imprints or in a listing of imprints dating from the Civil Warperiod. Printed by the New Orleans Times,the item is entitled Benefit of Mr. F. S.Chanfrau, Three Pieces. The “pieces,” orplays, referred to are The Debutante,Widow’s Victim, and Toodles.

A donation of 19 programs from localcommunity theaters, ranging from 1927to 1929, is from Oliver J. Counce. Most ofthe programs are from Tulane Theatre pro-ductions and include an October 2, 1927,Ziegfeld Follies and a December 1, 1929,production of Nikita Balieff ’s Chauve-Souris. Included as well is a program fromthe Poplar Theatre, described as NewOrleans finest suburban theater, locatedon Poplar Street (now Willow) nearCarrollton Avenue.

A biography of Andrew Jackson, onceowned by George Washington Sully, bearsthe signature and date, G. W. Sully 1836,on the title page. Sully was the nephew ofthe renowned portrait painter ThomasSully, who lived in Philadelphia. The elderSully reportedly sketched Jackson after theBattle of New Orleans and made otherJackson paintings. His nephew GeorgeWashington Sully was a cotton broker inNew Orleans and painted watercolorscenes of the city. He died in Covington,Louisiana, in 1890.

G. W. Sully added drawings on theend pages of the Jackson biography as wellas several inscriptions, including one thatreads, “This is the life of Old Hickorycommonly called Genl Jackson and itbelongs to me, So don’t no body steal it nohow at all.”

—Gerald Patout

Mrs. David W. Aiken, Sr.Stephen ArchackiMarilyn BarnettElizabeth BlackEdward BlanchardKatherine BlaumDr. Patricia BradyBarbara BroadwellHugh BrownThomas CairnsMrs. John W. CalhounMark CaveMary Louise ChristovichEugene CizekJohn and Dorothy ClemmerLisa L. CookDr. Oliver H. Dabezies, Jr. Elisabeth de Grimoüard-CaudeWilliam Lake DouglasBrooke Duncan IIIThe Education Through HistoricPreservation Program

Laurance Eustis, Jr.Mike FordJeanne FordHarry A. Freiberg, Jr.Maurice L. FrisellFrank FujiMr. and Mrs. Charles F. GayJohn Geiser IIICharlette Godurowski

Mrs. John M. GoodwinGumbo ShopSara Ann HarrisAnna HeidukHeritage Oak PressHoly Cross SchoolDana HolyfieldImagin, Inc.Salvatore I. ImpastatoIndiana University PressDonald L. KingPeggy Scott LabordeMargaret T. LaneMrs. W. Elliott Laudeman IIIJohn H. LawrenceMollie W. LoweMrs. R. Steven MarcusKerri McCaffetyRichard and Justine McCarthyMilling, Benson, Woodward, LLPEdith H. MossyNew Orleans Museum of ArtMrs. Peter Roussel NormanPantheon BooksGerald F. Patout, Jr.Michael PatrykusDouglas C. PetersonAshton Phelps, Jr.Mrs. Joseph D. PierceDr. Mary Emma Dutreix PiersonPirate’s Alley Faulkner Society, Inc.

Christopher Porché-WestLeclare Bush Ratterree IIIDr. J. William RosenthalNola Mae RossMary Elizabeth SandersFrank SaucierMarcelle D’Aquin SaussyElizabeth Gentry SayadEdwin C. Schilling, Jr.Christina SekaerLloyd SensatDr. Henry G. SimonJohn R. SonnierSue SpilsburyIrma StieglerMichael StoutJoan P. SuterUniversity of Notre Dame PressAnne VillarealMr. And Mrs. John E. WalkerWatkins Community Museum ofHistory, Douglas CountyHistorical Society

Betty WilliamsWilliams Prize CommitteeLeroy WillieBetty WisdomDalton L. WoolvertonWilliam B. Wynn, Jr.Floyd Zula

DONORS: JANUARY—MARCH 1999

LIBRARY

IN MEMORIAMThe Historic New Orleans Collection mourns the loss ofDr. George Reinecke, who was a volunteer in the manu-scripts division for many years. He died on May 23. A largepart of Dr. Reinecke’s work at THNOC was centeredaround the papers of Baron Henri de Ste-Gême, an impor-tant archive that provides detailed information about life inand around New Orleans in the early years of the 19th cen-tury. Dr. Reinecke was a professor emeritus of English atthe University of New Orleans and the author of severalbooks and numerous articles. He was also a folklorist wellknown for his extensive knowledge of New Orleans culture

and neighborhoods. His article, “Fess” Manetta, Music Master, appeared in the spring 1998issue of the Historic New Orleans Collection Quarterly.

______________________

The Collection mourns the loss of good friend and donor Roy Octave Trahan, who died on May 25. In 1990, Mr. Trahan donated his archive of photographic negatives andprints to the Historic New Orleans Collection. The thousands of accessioned items cover aperiod of nearly 50 years on a variety of subjects. Especially important are his editorial-styledocumentary photographs pertaining to social services in New Orleans. In the 1960s, Mr.Trahan chronicled the activities of many local agencies supported by the United Fund andUnited Way of New Orleans. The library has a copy of his self-published memoir, L’Histoired’un Cajun (The Story of a Cajun); My Life and Work. The Trahan Collection is available forstudy at the Williams Research Center, 410 Chartres Street.

AWARDS

Alfred Lemmon , recipient of theDistinguished ServiceAward of the Societyo f S o u t h w e s tArchivists. Earliert h i s y e a r h e w a sasked to participatein ceremonies at theRoyal Academy ofF i n e A r t s i nMadrid.

IN THE COMMUNITY

Gerald Patout, president, Louisiana andSouthern Mississippi Chapter of SpecialLibraries Association.

S p e e c h e s : J o h nM a g i l l , f e a t u r e dspeaker at the annualfund-raiser luncheono f t h e L o u i s i a n aLandmarks Society,a n d s p e e c h ,Hermann-GrimaHo u s e . G e r a l dP a t o u t , P a m e l aArceneaux, and Patricia Brady, Le PetitSalon; Gerald Patout, Louisiana Colonials;Judith Bonner, Third Saturday presenta-tion at the Williams Research Center; JohnLawrence, slide presentation, Les Amis, St.Louis, Missouri.

Sue Reyna , volunteer, TennesseeWilliams Festival.

PAPERS

Alfred Lemmon, papers presented at theSouthern Archives Conference, Memphis,and at the Society of SouthwesternArchivists, Fayetteville, Arkansas.

MEETINGS

Alfred Lemmon, Patricia Brady, KathySlimp, Elsa Schneider, Priscilla Lawrence,a n d Jo h n L a w re n c e , “ Fr a n c e a n dLouisiana” symposium, Giverny, France;Nancy Ruck , Southwest Archivists ,Fayetteville, Arkansas; Warren J. Woodsand Steve Sweet, American Association of

Museums, Baltimore; Pamela Arceneaux,Louisiana Library Association, Alexandria;Gerald Patout, seminar of the Special

Libraries Association (SLA), SoutheasternLibrary Network (SOLINET) digitizingw o r k s h o p , a n d S L A c o n f e r e n c e ,P h i l a d e l p h i a ; A l f r e d L e m m o n ,Preservation Advisory Committee meetingon SOLINET; John Lawrence, LouisianaHistorical Association, Lafayette.

PUBLICATIONS

John Magill, New Orleans Magazine,Cultural Vistas, and Preservation in Print;Judith Bonner, New Orleans Art Review;

Patricia Brady , Louisiana Life; JohnLawrence, Cultural Vistas.

CHANGES

Sue Laudeman, coordinator, EducationalOutreach Program (see page 7); JesseThomas, assistant registrar; Jason Wiese,special collections/projects librarian;Icelynn Lackings, secretary to the director;Jennifer Berger, photographic assistant.

SPECIAL PROJECTS AND INTERNS

Jessica Burke and Heather Yost, obituaryindex project; Nathalie Brignac, Contempor-ary Art Center intern working on CAC records.

14

Editors:Patricia Brady

Louise C. Hoffman

Head of Photography:Jan White Brantley

The Historic New Orleans Collection

Quarterly is published by the Historic New

Orleans Collection, which is operated

b y t h e K e m p e r a n d L e i l a Wi l l i a m s

Foundation, a Louisiana nonprofit corpora-

tion. Housed in a complex of historic build-

ings in the French Quarter, facilities are open

to the public, Tuesday through Saturday,

from 10:00 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. Tours of the

history galleries and the residence are avail-

able for a nominal fee.

Board of Directors:Mrs. William K. Christovich, President

John E. WalkerFred M. Smith

Charles A. SnyderMeg Allan

G. Henry Pierson, Jr., emeritus

Priscilla Lawrence, Director

The Historic New Orleans Collection533 Royal Street

New Orleans, Louisiana 70130(504) 523-4662

hnocinfo@hnoc.orgwww.hnoc.org

ISSN 0886-2109 © 2000The Historic New Orleans Collection

Additional photography by:Dustin Booksh

Alfred Lemmon

Gerald Patout

STAFF

Jason WieseIcelynn Lackings

Jesse Thomas

Nathalie Brignac

Jennifer Berger

Jessica Burke

Heather Yost

At “France and Louisiana” symposium, Giverny,France: Pat Smith, Elsa Schneider, and Judge MorrisS. Arnold

AT THE COLLECTION

15

THE SHOP

For Art CollectorsThe Encyclopaedia of New Orleans Artists, 1718-1918, is the book to have at hand after readingGeorge Jordan’s article on Louisiana portraitpainters, A Matter of Taste. The Collection’s indis-pensable reference to local art was published, afteryears of research, in 1987. A second volume willcover artists from 1919 to 1999.

Preservation Guide 3: Paintings by PriscillaLawrence presents practical information aboutthe protection and preservation of art in thehome. Paintings, properly cared for, will provideenjoyment for generations.

PLEASE SENDQuantity Amount______ Encyclopaedia of New Orleans Artists,

$39.95 (hardback) ________________ Preservation Guide 3: Paintings,

$3.95 (paper) __________Subtotal__________

Shipping and Handling __________Hardback: $4 for first book;

$2 each additional __________Paperback: $2 for first book;

$.50 each additional __________Taxes as applicable:

9% Orleans Parish __________4% other La. Residents __________

Total Amount Due__________

Name:

Address:

City, State, Zip:

Visa MasterCard Check or Money order

Account Number:

Exp. Date:

Signature:

ORDERS FOR BOOKS WILL CONTINUE TO BE FILLED

WHILE THE SHOP IS CLOSED DURING A RENOVATION

OF THE WILLIAMS GALLERY.

Above, gathered for the first annual Bill Russell Lectureare William Wagner, brother of Bill Russell; Emily MaeEvans, daughter of Bunk Johnson; Alden Ashforth,UCLA professor of music; lecturer Michael White;Harold Batiste, music educator and jazz musician; and Alfred Lemmon. Right, Dr. Michael White, jazzhistorian and musician, who spoke on Jelly Roll Morton.

Javier Morales, director of the National Patrimony of Spain; Leticia Ruiz, curator atMadrid’s Prado Museum, and Jack Kyles, executive director, Mississippi Council forInternational Cultural Exchange, visited THNOC to discuss plans for the 2001 symposium in Spain.

Honored at the annual volunteer luncheon were Vicki Lazarus, Wade Toth, Mary AnnHymel, Karoline Prentice, Merlyn Weilbaecher, Margot Pleasants, Hugo Wedemeyer,Heather Yost, Harry Redman, and Ethel LeRuth.

Viewing the River

KEMPER AND LEILA WILLIAMS FOUNDATIONTHE HISTORIC NEW ORLEANS COLLECTIONMuseum • Research Center • Publisher533 Royal StreetNew Orleans, Louisiana 70130(504) 523-4662Visit the Collection on the Internet at www.hnoc.orgADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED

Mississippi River life is one of the strongest research fields at the Collection, supported by nearly 3,000 manu-scripts, books, ephemera, prints, and paintings such as John H. B. Latrobe’s 1834 watercolor, The mouth of theMississippi near the Balize (above, 1973.40). Representations of early steamboats, particularly the primitive steamtugs that powered the city’s downriver traffic, are very rare and are eagerly sought by collectors. Alfred JacobMiller’s Tug Boats sets off THNOC’s already rich collection of river images.