Louisiana Cultural Vistas - Spring 2008 - (Page 65) who loaned his painting by Rothmel “representing De Soto discovering the Mississippi.” The National Gallery of Paintings and various art associations exhibited a number of New Orleans artists. The art associations often had their own viewing galleries. For example, the Art Union was formed around 1880, and a little later the Southern Artists’ League and Arts Association eventually merged with the Arts and Exhibitions Club in the 1890s. Through these organizations, local philanthropist Isaac Delgado provided monies in 1910 to found a museum of art in City Park, which is today the New Orleans Museum of Art. Best known for his New Orleans Guide published in 1885, James S. Zacharie, as a member of the Louisiana Historical Society, introduced a series of resolutions in late 1898 committing the society to a program of celebrations for the 1903 Louisiana Purchase Centennial. A committee was subsequently formed and by the next year, Zacharie, as chairman of the committee, proposed that the Centennial be celebrated by the “dedication of a Colonial Museum in the old Cabildo buildings on Jackson Square, with appropriate ceremonies, to which invitations to participate in shall be extended to the French and Spanish Governments, and to the Governors, Officers, and Historical Societies of the States that were created out of the former colony of Louisiana.” The following year, this “museum idea” evolved into an exhibit in the Fisk Free Library composed of “maps, documents, and historical relics, collected and arranged in the room of the Artists’ Association …” T.P. Thompson also played a key role in establishing the exhibit of historical material at the Fisk Library. Thompson was a tireless book collector. By the end of his life he had amassed a library of over ten thousand books and manuscripts with an emphasis on Louisiana, the Mississippi Valley and the West Indies. Thompson kept the library in his house on Calhoun Street, where it occupied nearly every portion of the residence. Thompson was author of Louisiana Writers, Native and Resident and a French Quarter guide book, A Walk Through the Vieux Carré, both published in 1904. It was reported that the Fisk Library exhibit was a success, and that the idea of a “loan collection or exhibit” had limitless possibilities. During this time Zacharie introduced another resolution to the Society for the formation of a committee of three to consider the creation of a State Museum. Eventually, historical and natural history collections were assembled for exhibit at the 1904 World’s Fair in St. Louis. When the fair ended these objects were returned to New Orleans, where they formed the nucleus of the State Museum collection. Opening ceremonies for the “Louisiana State Exhibit and Museum” at Washington Artillery Hall took place on May 3, 1905. The legislation officially recognizing the State Museum did not go into effect until the following year. The creation of the Louisiana State Museum at the time reflected the general effort by the museum industry at large to create professional standards. The formation of the American Association of Museums (AAM) in 1906 reflected the energy and organization of that period. —Greg Lambousy Director of Collections The Louisiana State Museum operates nine historic properties open to the public. For more information, log on to www.lsm.crt.state.la.us/ or call: 1 (800) 568-6968 NEW ORLEANS All properties open Tuesday – Sunday, 9 a.m.–5 p.m. 1 (800) 568-6968 Cabildo 701 Chartres Street at Jackson Square The Cabildo: Two Hundred Years of Louisiana History features exhibits that trace Louisiana’s past from 17th century to post-Civil War Reconstruction. Also on view: Freshly Brewed: The Coffee Trade and the Port of New Orleans. Presbytere 751 Chartres Street at Jackson Square Celebrate Mardi Gras yearround: It’s Carnival Time in Louisiana. The Old U.S. Mint 400 Esplanade Avenue Built in 1835, the Old U.S. Mint is the only building in America to have served both as a United States and a Confederate Mint. 1850 House 523 St. Ann Street at Jackson Square Authentically furnished Pontalba apartment of a middle-class family life during the most prosperous period in New Orleans’ history. Madame John’s Legacy 632 Dumaine Street Excellent example of Louisiana Creole residential design of the late 18th century. The building that stands today was constructed in 1788, although a French colonist named Jean Pascal occupied and built other structures on this site as early as the 1720s. NATCHITOCHES Open Monday-Saturday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. (318) 357-2270 The Old Courthouse Museum 600 Second Street Acadian Memories: The Works of Mary Anne Pecot de Boisblancview: paintings depicting the artist’s heritage through family tales and folk anecdotes (through April 19, 2008). Also on view, Natchitoches: Landmarks in Time (through April 26, 2008). PATTERSON Open Tuesday-Saturday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. (985) 399-1268 La. State Museum-Patterson 118 Cotton Road off LA 90 Site of the official state aviation and cypress sawmill industry museum and houses two very important collections documenting Louisiana's rich history. The Wedell-Williams Aviation Collection focuses on the legacy of Louisiana aviation pioneers Jimmie Wedell and Harry Williams who formed an air service in Patterson in the 1928. Both men became nationally prominent during what was known as the Golden Age of Aviation. Cabildo gallery BATON ROUGE Open Tuesday-Saturday, 9 a.m.5 p.m.; Sunday Noon-5 p.m. (225) 342-5414 La. State Museum-Baton Rouge 660 N. 4th Street Exhibits cover the broad history of the state, with themed areas grouped within Grounds for Greatness: Louisiana and the Nation and The Louisiana Experience: Discovering the Soul of America. THIBODAUX Open Tuesday – Saturday, 9 a.m.–5 p.m. (985) 447-0915 E. D. White Historic Site 2295 LA Highway 1 Exhibits on the lives of Gov. Edward Douglas White and his son, United States Supreme Court Chief Justice Edward Douglass White, as well as the history of the White family in the Bayou Lafourche area and the region’s sugar industry. The houseprominently represents the "raised cottage" design that was popular in south Louisiana prior to the Civil war. Spring 2008/LOUISIANA ENDOWMENT FOR THE HUMANITIES 65 http://www.lsm.crt.state.la.us/
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