The New Orleans Museum of Art, American Art

Louisiana Indians Walking Along a Bayou Boisseau, Alfred, 1847

Louisiana Indians Walking Along a Bayou Boisseau, Alfred, 1847

Another influence on the character of Louisiana culture was that of the indigenous population. Indian ideas were an indispensable source for early settlers trying to adapt to the region, and this assimilation was mutual, as illustrated by Alfred Boisseau’s Indians Walking Along the Bayou. A hybridization of culture can be seen in this work, for the child carries Indian implements, the man carries an American rifle, and the clothing is Indian in style but cut from European or American fabrics.

The New Orleans Museum of Art’s permanent collection includes noteworthy works by American artists from the 18th Century to the present day. John Singleton Copley, represented at NOMA by his Portrait of Colonel George Watson, was the most skilled artist practicing in the American colonies before the Revolution. Benjamin West, a trend-setter in the late 18th and early 19th Centuries, forecast both the Neo-Classic and Romantic movements in his paintings. Renowned portrait artists Charles Willson Peale, Thomas Sully and Gilbert Stuart are also represented with important works. A highlight of the collection is John Singer Sargent’s elegant Portrait of Mrs. Asher Wertheimer, painted in 1898.

Portrait Bust of George Washington ca, 1816 by Ceracchi, Giuseppe The work on view was originally commissioned by the City of New Orleans

Portrait Bust of George Washington ca, 1816 by Ceracchi, Giuseppe The work on view was originally commissioned by the City of New Orleans

Portrait Bust of George Washington ca, 1816 by Ceracchi, Giuseppe The work on view was originally commissioned by the City of New Orleans

Portrait Bust of George Washington ca, 1816 by Ceracchi, Giuseppe The work on view was originally commissioned by the City of New Orleans

Portrait of Colonel George Watson (1718-1800) 1768 Copley, John Singleton Oil on canvas

Portrait of Colonel George Watson (1718-1800) 1768 Copley, John Singleton Oil on canvas

Rare and Important American Gothic Revival Oak Hall Chairs, possibly New Orleans, mid-19th century, the tall back supported by pierced and carved stiles terminating in crocketed spires, the central pierced and carved splat with an additional carved spire, the solid plank seat with molded edge hinged along the back edge and opening to a void cavity, supported by pierced front legs, h. 71". This chair belongs to a small but important group of furniture associated with the Antebellum South. Related chairs have been found in Vicksburg, New Orleans, and most notably Stanton Hall Plantation in Natchez, Mississippi. It has been suggested that New Orleans may have been the source of this body of furniture since the Stanton Hall examples were invoiced by Henry Siebrecht of New Orleans. Related examples are in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, the Bybee Collection, the Dallas Museum of Art, the Henry Francis duPont Winterthur Museum and the New Orleans Museum of Art. A mate to the Winterthur chair sold at New Orleans Auction Galleries in March, 1998, for $40,700, and another sidechair in March, 2000, for $56,000. The New Orleans Auction St. Charles Gallery sold the matching recamier in April, 1998, for $44,000.