June 17, 2023 through October 29th, 2023
Port Allen: The West Baton Rouge Museum presents The River Is the Road: Paintings by George Rodrigue. Coinciding with the 10th anniversary of Rodrigue's death, this exhibition will open June 17, 2023. This exhibit is the first of its kind and traces 45 years of the river in Rodrigue's paintings, exploring the unique ways Rodrigue used the river as a reference to his Cajun heritage, and ultimately as a metaphor for the journey of life. The exhibition, organized by the Life & Legacy Foundation, includes 45 original artworks, including paintings, sculpture, and works on metal from the private collection of Wendy Rodrigue, the George Godfrey Rodrigue, Jr. Family Trust, and selected works borrowed from collectors.
In addition, Wendy Rodrigue, widow of artist George Rodrigue, will host in-person tours for area schools during Fall 2023. We are extremely grateful for the exhibit and program sponsorship of Telich Custom Homes and Morgan Stanley.
George Rodrigue was born in New Iberia, Louisiana in 1944. Diagnosed with polio at the age of eight, Rodrigue began painting while he was bed ridden. He continued to paint throughout grade school, even selling hand painted shirts for gas money. He majored in Art at the University of Southwest Louisiana and also attended the Art Center College of Design in Los Angeles, California. In the late 1960's, Rodrigue moved back to Lafayette and began painting full time. His first solo art show was held at his alma mater USL in 1968. He began painting the oak tree and landscape in the late 1960s and continued to develop his technique by painting from photographs in combination with the oak tree. After painting festival posters, exhibiting in Paris, doing an Evangeline Series, using Cajun folklore, and publishing his first book, Rodrigue painted his first Blue Dog in 1984. Rodrigue would go on to be commissioned by the White House in 1996, and other advertisements such as Xerox in 2000. He maintained international fame for another decade until his battle with cancer came to an end in 2013.