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French Quarter Life

French Quarter street scene showing at 710 Toulouse Street, and corner of shuttered building at 714 Toulouse, with a man walking along the street in the darkness, his shadow falling upon the wall. Shows cat beside colonnette supporting balcony, a street light, double doorway of the gateway, laundry hanging on second floor of 710 Toulouse, and ironwork balcony of 714 Toulouse. Shows partial view of balcony and building at corner of Toulouse and Royal Streets.
The Night Prowler, New Orleans, between 1930 and 1939, oil painting by Holger W. Jensen. HNOC, 1999.91.4

French Quarter Life

People and Places in the Vieux Carré

Artistic impressions of New Orleans’s most iconic neighborhood

Ongoing

520 Royal Street
Seignouret-Brulatour Building
3rd Floor

Included with free museum admission

“Don’t you just love these long rainy afternoons in New Orleans when an hour isn’t just an hour—but a little piece of eternity dropped into your hands—and who knows what to do with it?”

Tennessee Williams, A Streetcar Named Desire

For more than 150 years, artists from around the world have worked to capture and share their impressions of New Orleans’s most iconic and historic neighborhood. This exhibition gathers paintings from the museum’s permanent collection, including gifts from Louisiana art collector Laura Simon Nelson. From the bustle of the French Market to the beauty of Jackson Square, these artworks explore the streets, buildings, and people of the French Quarter through time and a variety of techniques.

1976 181 no frame o10
Restaurant de la Renaissance, 1904, pastel by William Woodward.  HNOC, 1976.181
N101109 1 1 000 no frame o10
Woman on Balcony, between 1965 and 1985, oil painting by Rober Malcolm Rucker. HNOC, 2022.0038.1
2014 0484 2 o10
Court of Two Sisters, between 1935 and 1945, oil painting by Clarence Millet. HNOC, gift of Laura Simon Nelson, 2014.0484.2
1995 29 2 000 no frame polarizer o10
Orleans street, 1932, oil painting by Colette Pope Heldner. HNOC, 1995.29.2
2011 0236 no frame o10
Mother Cabrini Playground on Barracks Street, between 1939 and 1943, oil painting by Clarence Millet. HNOC, 2011.0236
2022.0038.5
Stoop Scene, 1970s, oil painting by Robert Malcolm Rucker. HNOC, gift of Laura Simon Nelson, 2022.0038.5

Explore the Virtual Exhibition

Shop the French Quarter Life Collection

Shop our curated selection of art prints from the French Quarter Life exhibition, now available at the Shop at the Collection.

Shop Shop
A view of the courtyard of the Court of Two Sisters showing people standing and seated at tables, with a fountain, trees, and a screened building in the background.

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First Draft

Views of the Vieux Carré

An HNOC exhibition showcases a diverse selection of paintings that reflect the unique character of New Orleans’s French Quarter.

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First Draft

The French Quarter That Made Cosimo Matassa

Before his recording studio changed the course of American popular music, Cosimo Matassa grew up in a teeming French Quarter community that no longer exists.  

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Related Collection Highlights

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A smiling woman with curly hair poses in a white outfit and heels. Text reads Chris Owens: Electrifying One Woman Show.

Chris Owens Collection

Maracas and more from the queen of Bourbon Street

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A detailed sketch depicts a historic, multi-story building with ornate iron balconies, a lamppost on the street, and a person standing in the foreground. The artwork captures an architectural essence and street scene ambiance.

Antoine’s Restaurant Collection

It’s the oldest continuously operating restaurant in the United States, and its archive at HNOC tells the story of a family business and its place in New Orleans history.

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An antique Remington Portable typewriter with round keys and a black body, displayed on a plain background.

Tennessee Williams’s “Streetcar” Typewriter

Working on a black Remington, Williams wrote his masterpiece in a French Quarter apartment near the Desire streetcar line. 

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Related Books

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Cover of Garden Legacy featuring a classical illustration of an angelic figure with wings and a flowing pink robe, perched above a column amidst greenery. The background has a decorative geometric pattern.

Garden Legacy

by Mary Louise Mossy Christovich and Roulhac Bunkley Toledano
with a foreword by S. Frederick Starr

Learn More Buy Now Buy Now
Cover of A Life in Jazz by Danny Barker, edited by Alyn Shipton. The image features a black-and-white portrait of a man wearing a hat and suit. The book includes a new introduction by Gwen Thompkins.

A Life in Jazz

by Danny Barker
edited by Alyn Shipton, with an introduction by Gwen Thompkins

Learn More Buy Now Buy Now
Historical painting depicting the founding era of New Orleans. The scene includes sailors, Indigenous people, and European settlers alongside a ship. The title, New Orleans, the Founding Era, appears at the top in English and French.

New Orleans, the Founding Era

edited by / édité par Erin M. Greenwald
translated by / traduit par Henry Colomer

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1954 19 newton ring o6