French Quarter Bohemia, 1926
Sessions: 2–5 p.m., Williams Research Center, 410 Chartres Street
Soirée: 5–7:30 p.m., 520 Royal Street
Sessions: Free admission with RSVP
Soirée: $20 per person
Registration opens July 27 for HNOC members and August 3 for the general public.
Step Back in Time
One hundred years ago, the French Quarter stood at the crossroads of a literary, artistic, and preservation renaissance. Join HNOC for an afternoon of exploration into the people, places, trends, and teeming social scene of early 20th-century French Quarter bohemia.
Presentations will cover the 100th anniversary of Sherwood Anderson and Other Famous Creoles: A Gallery of Contemporary New Orleans by William Spratling and William Faulkner, the artistic influence of the Arts and Crafts Club of New Orleans, and the legacy of preservationists such as William Ratcliffe Irby, owner of HNOC’s 520 Royal Street in 1926 and the person responsible for installing its famed Aeolian pipe organ.
Lectures are free and open to the public. The day will conclude with a ticketed 1920s-themed reception featuring refreshments, an open wine-and-champagne bar, and live music.
Registration opens July 27 for HNOC members and August 3 for the general public. Not a member? Join today.
Sessions Schedule
All sessions take place at HNOC’s Williams Research Center located at 410 Chartres Street. Admission is free with registration required.
Daniel Hammer, President and CEO, Historic New Orleans Collection
John Shelton Reed, author of Dixie Bohemia: A French Quarter Circle in the 1920s
How did New Orleans become the epicenter of New Orleans bohemian life? In recognition of the 100th anniversary of Spratling and Faulkner’s Sherwood Anderson and Other Famous Creoles: A Gallery of Contemporary New Orleans, author John Shelton Reed will discuss the writers and literary salons of the French Quarter alongside the early 20th-century national fascination with New Orleans.
John Shelton Reed is the author of some two dozen books, including Dixie Bohemia: A French Quarter Circle in the 1920s and, most recently, The Ramos Gin Fizz (both published by LSU Press). He taught for many years at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he helped to found the quarterly Southern Cultures and the Center for the Study of the American South.
Judith H. Bonner, former HNOC senior curator of art
In this talk, former HNOC curator and historian Judith H. Bonner will discuss the visual arts renaissance of the 1920s French Quarter, highlighting artist circles, artists, and notable works of the era. These works helped to create a visual record of the time and to propel the French Quarter into a period of architectural and cultural preservation.
Williams Research Center, 410 Chartres Street
Williams Research Center, 410 Chartres Street
Ann M. Masson, architectural historian
Esteemed historian and lifelong French Quarter resident Ann M. Masson will highlight the 1920s preservation movement in the French Quarter, specifically touching on the contributions of William Ratcliffe Irby, who owned HNOC’s Seignouret-Brulatour Building at 520 Royal Street at the time. Irby rented space to the Arts and Crafts Club during this era while making improvements to the property, such as the installation of an Aeolian residential player pipe organ in the foyer of his private residence on the third floor.
In the fields of architectural history and historic preservation, Ann M. Masson’s distinguished and varied career includes that of author, lecturer, administrator, activist, consultant, and financial supporter. Masson taught architectural history at the Tulane School of Architecture, and she currently serves on the Dean’s Advisory Committee.
Swingin’ Soirée
5–7:30 p.m.
520 Royal Street
$20 per person
Join HNOC for a lighthearted early-evening soirée celebrating the 1920s bohemian French Quarter scene in the same courtyard made famous by members of the Arts and Crafts Club! Attendees are encouraged to wear 1920s attire. Your ticket includes after-hours access to HNOC’s French Quarter Galleries, museum shop, an open bar of white wine and champagne, hors d'oeuvres, and live music by the Slick Skillet Serenaders.
Registration opens July 27 for HNOC members and August 3 for the general public.
Speakers & Artists
Judith H. Bonner
Judith H. Bonner
Judith H. Bonner publishes widely on Louisiana art, Southern art, and art criticism. She co-edited the Art and Architecture volume of The New Encyclopedia of Southern Culture. She authored the foreword for A Dream and a Chisel: Louisiana Sculptor Angela Gregory in Paris, 1925-1928. With her husband, Dr. Thomas Bonner Jr., she wrote the introduction and biographies for personalities caricatured in Sherwood Anderson and Other Famous Creoles (Pelican, 2018).
Bonner was Senior Curator and Curator of Art at the Historic New Orleans Collection (1987 – 2022). She curated numerous exhibitions, including the Newcomb College Centennial Exhibition at the New Orleans Museum of Art (1987) and nine collaborative exhibitions featuring artworks held by the Collection and NOMA. Other exhibitions and catalogues featured William Woodward: American Impressionist; Arts and Crafts Club: An Artistic Legacy; John Clemmer: A Legacy in Art; and Mignon Faget: A Life in Art and Design. She taught at Xavier University of Louisiana and the United States Air Force Academy.
Ann M. Masson
Ann M. Masson
In the fields of architectural history and historic preservation, Ann M. Masson’s distinguished and varied career includes that of author, lecturer, administrator, activist, consultant, and financial supporter. Masson taught architectural history at the Tulane School of Architecture, and she currently serves on the Dean’s Advisory Committee.
John Shelton Reed
John Shelton Reed
John Shelton Reed is the author of some two dozen books, including Dixie Bohemia: A French Quarter Circle in the 1920s and, most recently, The Ramos Gin Fizz (both published by LSU Press). He taught for many years at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he helped to found the quarterly Southern Cultures and the Center for the Study of the American South.
The Slick Skillet Serenaders
The Slick Skillet Serenaders
The Slick Skillet Serenaders are a New Orleans-based 1920s and 1930s era jazz band who add a touch of vaudeville jokes and antics to their performances. They have been an internationally touring band since 2011, playing shows in all 50 states and across Europe.
The band has a great love and appreciation for the music of the 1920s and 1930s and the showmanship with which they were performed. Nothing makes their musicians happier than hanging out, playing music, and trading songs and jokes with friends, old and new. Learn more on the band’s website.
Related Stories
“One of the Great Literary Curiosities” of French Quarter Bohemia Turns 100
With a foreword by William Faulkner and clever portrait drawings, Sherwood Anderson and Other Famous Creoles is an offbeat who’s-who of 1920s New Orleans.
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Homage to the French Quarter
The bohemian scene of midcentury New Orleans comes to life in this exciting acquisition.
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