FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact:
Miriam Taylor
925 Camp Street
New Orleans, LA 70130
504‐539‐9631
pr@ogdenmuseum.org

NEW ORLEANS, LA - The Ogden Museum of Southern Art will welcome two new exhibitions, Simon Gunning and the Southern Louisiana Landscape and Maude Schuyler Clay: Mississippi History to its galleries with an opening reception during Art for Arts' Sake. The reception will take place on Saturday, October 1, 6-9pm; admission to the event is free, there will be entertainment by DJ Ed Maxmillion and cash bars.

Featured Exhibitions:

Maude Schuyler Clay: Mississippi History
October 1, 2016 - January 15, 2017
Maude Schuyler Clay is a fifth generation Mississippian. Clay started her color portrait series Mississippi History in 1975 when she acquired her first Rolleiflex 2 ¼" camera from her cousin William Eggleston. At the time, she was living and working in New York and paying frequent visits to her native Mississippi Delta, whose landscape and people continued to inspire her. Over the next 25 years, the project, which began as The Mississippians, evolved in part as an homage to Julia Margaret Cameron, a definitive pioneer of the art of photography. Clay's expressive, allegorical portraits of her friends, family and other Mississippians, as well as her artful approach to capturing the essence of light, are the driving forces behind her recollection of moments of family life in Mississippi in the 1980s and 90s.

"Mississippi History is the culmination of over two decades of photographic exploration in color portraiture by Maude Schuyler Clay. These portraits capture the cast of characters in Clay's everyday world, including family, friends and strangers. Together these portraits tell not only the photographer's personal history, but also the history of Mississippi in the late 20th century." - Richard McCabe, Curator of Photography

Simon Gunning and the Southern Louisiana Landscape
October 1, 2016 - February 5, 2017

Australian-born Simon Gunning left his native country in the 1970s with plans to attend a graduate program in England for painting. On his way, he traveled through the United States and to New Orleans, where he was captivated by the city's urban landscape set amongst a lush backdrop of tropical flora and cypress swamps. Gunning moved to New Orleans in 1981 and began painting its neighborhood streets and later, the natural scenery of South Louisiana.

Gunning's paintings depict a range of local subject matter, such as the Creole cottage-lined streets of the city's historic neighborhoods, passing barges on the Mississippi River, and the serenity of two fishermen in the Honey Island Swamp. This exhibition will highlight Gunning's mastery of the Southern Louisiana landscape, which he has been painting for over thirty years.

About Art for Arts' Sake:

Created by the Contemporary Arts Center in 1980, this annual rite of fall has become one of the hottest events of the year for art lovers in and around New Orleans.

Join more than 30,000 art lovers at one of the most chic street parties ever, held this fall at Art for Arts' Sake. With hundreds of fabulous galleries and shops open on Julia Street, throughout the historic Warehouse Arts District and along Magazine Street, Art for Arts' Sake is an annual tradition that opens the city's exciting art season.

For more information visit ogdenmuseum.org or contact pr@ogdenmuseum.org or call (504) 539-9631.

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Located in the vibrant Warehouse Arts District of downtown New Orleans, Louisiana, the Ogden Museum of Southern Art holds the largest collection of Southern art and is recognized for its original exhibitions, public events, and educational programs which examine the development of visual art alongside Southern traditions of music, literature, and culinary heritage to provide a comprehensive story of the South. Established in 1999 and in Stephen Goldring Hall since 2003, the Museum welcomes almost 80,000 visitors annually, and attracts diverse audiences through its broad range of programming including exhibitions, lectures, film screenings, and concerts which are all part of its mission to broaden the knowledge, understanding, interpretation, and appreciation of the visual arts and culture of the American South.

The Ogden Museum is open Wednesday through Monday from 10AM-5PM and also on Thursdays from 6-8PM for Ogden After Hours. Admission is free to Museum Members and $13.50 for adults, $11 for seniors 65 and older, $7.25 for children ages 5-17 and free for children under 5.

The Ogden Museum is free to Louisiana Residents on Thursdays from 10AM-5PM courtesy of The Helis Foundation. The Helis Foundation is a Louisiana private foundation, established by the William Helis Family. The Art Funds of the Helis Foundation advance access to the arts for the community through contributions that sustain operations for, provide free admission to, acquire works of art, and underwrite major exhibitions and projects of institutions within the Greater New Orleans area.

The Museum is closed Martin Luther King Day, Lundi Gras and Mardi Gras, July 4th, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day and day following, Christmas Day and New Years Day.

The Museum is located at 925 Camp Street, New Orleans Louisiana 70130. For more information visit ogdenmuseum.org or call 504-539-9650.