Ryan Tramonte is the General Manager of French Art Network and Rue Royale Art Partners of New Orleans. With galleries in Carmel by the Sea, California; Santa Fe, New Mexico; New Orleans and Key West, Florida; the company’s family of galleries represents 54 artists from across the globe. With his office in the center of the French Quarter at 541 Royal Street, Ryan has managed to surround himself with some of the most beautiful aspects of New Orleans, its artists. Artists mold the way we think and live on a daily basis, they are one of society’s most prized possessions. Ryan, himself works in all mediums, but centers his work on painting and collage.
Historic New Orleans Collection: Featured Article
Surrounded by Water: New Orleans, the Mississippi River and Lake Pontchartrain
Along its considerable length, the Mississippi River presents many appearances. Its headwaters, in the glacial lakes of Minnesota, produce a modest stream that gradually widens as it travels south. Tumbling over St. Anthony’s Falls at Minneapolis, then passing the bluffs of Iowa, the river gathers volume and width, pressing toward its confluence with the Missouri (at St. Louis) and, further downstream, the Ohio (at Cairo, Illinois). When the flow reaches the flatlands of Louisiana, its broad, sheetlike surface belies a swift and treacherous current, racing toward discharge into the Gulf of Mexico through a weblike array of channels.
The city of New Orleans owes its existence - and its economic viability - to its location near the mouth of the Mississippi. For centuries, the river has acted as the primary conduit for the consumer goods, natural resources and agricultural products that make New Orleans one of the world’s greatest ports. Lake Pontchartrain to the north and the Gulf of Mexico to the south further enhance the city’s stature as a hub of travel, trade and recreation. Yet periodic flooding, tropical storms and vanishing wetlands are ever-present reminders of instability. Surrounded by water, the city is also surrounded by risk. And still New Orleans perseveres. (More)
A Brief History of New Orleans
New Orleans History From 1682 through Post-Civil War
In its colorful history, many flags have flown over the City of New Orleans, including the French, the Spanish, the Confederacy and the United States of America. And even before that, the land we now call New Orleans was inhabited by the Houma tribe of Native Americans. In fact, some historians speculate that New Orleans was inhabited for thousands of years before explorers ever discovered it.
The modern history of New Orleans begins with the French explorers of the late seventeenth century, motivated by King Louis XIV to bring home treasures and triumph for France. At that time, the city was almost completely unfit for human habitation. It lies about 107 miles from the Gulf of Mexico on a stretch of land between the mighty Mississippi River and Lake Pontchartrain. In 1682, when the French explorer LaSalle first found it, the area we now know to be New Orleans was crowded with mosquitoes, alligators and Indians. He did not stay... (More)
French Quarter History
Garden District History
The Quarter is the only section of New Orleans where the streets run in a grid, making the city most easily navigable from Canal Street to Esplanade, between Decatur (on the Mississippi River) to Rampart Street. The French Quarter was founded by the French and constructed throughout the 18th century. The French Market sprouted up by the port on the river, where it still stands today. King Louis XV ordered Catholic Ursuline nuns to go to the new territory. The nuns arrived in 1727 and built the Old Ursuline Convent in 1734. (More)
"These mansions stand in the center of large grounds and rise, garlanded with roses, out of the midst of swelling masses of shining green foliage and many-colored blossoms. No houses could well be in better harmony with their surroundings, or more pleasing to the eye." Mark Twain said this when speaking of the Garden District, and a visit will have you agreeing with him. For many visitors and residents of New Orleans, no locale embodies the grandeur and glory of the Southern aristocracy of history and legend better... (More)
Neighborhoods
New Orleans' neighborhoods are as varied as her people, and each one of them really does tell a story all her own. Each neighborhood has a unique history and community that has developed around its residents and cultures, dating way back to when the city was being settled by the Irish, Italians, Germans and, more recently, the Vietnamese. These influences effect the types of shops you will find, restaurants, architecture and churches. Explore the diverse paths of New Orleans in neighborhoods like the Bywater, Marigny, Vieux Carre (French Quarter), Garden District, Irish Channel, Broadmoor, Mid-City and more! (More)
Ryan Tramonte is the General Manager of French Art Network and Rue Royale Art Partners of New Orleans. With galleries in Carmel by the Sea, California; Santa Fe, New Mexico; New Orleans and Key West, Florida; the company’s family of galleries represents 54 artists from across the globe. With his office in the center of the French Quarter at 541 Royal Street, Ryan has managed to surround himself with some of the most beautiful aspects of New Orleans, its artists. Artists mold the way we think and live on a daily basis, they are one of society’s most prized possessions. Ryan, himself works in all mediums, but centers his work on painting and collage.
Surrounded by Water: New Orleans, the Mississippi River and Lake Pontchartrain
New Orleans History From 1682 through Post-Civil War
The Quarter is the only section of New Orleans where the streets run in a grid, making the city most easily navigable from Canal Street to Esplanade, between Decatur (on the Mississippi River) to Rampart Street. The French Quarter was founded by the French and constructed throughout the 18th century. The French Market sprouted up by the port on the river, where it still stands today. King Louis XV ordered Catholic Ursuline nuns to go to the new territory. The nuns arrived in 1727 and built the Old Ursuline Convent in 1734. 
"These mansions stand in the center of large grounds and rise, garlanded with roses, out of the midst of swelling masses of shining green foliage and many-colored blossoms. No houses could well be in better harmony with their surroundings, or more pleasing to the eye." Mark Twain said this when speaking of the Garden District, and a visit will have you agreeing with him. For many visitors and residents of New Orleans, no locale embodies the grandeur and glory of the Southern aristocracy of history and legend better... 
New Orleans' neighborhoods are as varied as her people, and each one of them really does tell a story all her own. Each neighborhood has a unique history and community that has developed around its residents and cultures, dating way back to when the city was being settled by the Irish, Italians, Germans and, more recently, the Vietnamese. These influences effect the types of shops you will find, restaurants, architecture and churches. Explore the diverse paths of New Orleans in neighborhoods like the Bywater, Marigny, Vieux Carre (French Quarter), Garden District, Irish Channel, Broadmoor, Mid-City and more!