Though the landmarks in Homage are striking, the focal point of the painting is the crowd of 64 people who lived and worked in the French Quarter, more than half of whom have been identified thus far. Among those depicted are artists Charles Richards, Andy Lang, Colette Heldner, Richard Hoffman, Francisco McBride, Johnny Donnels, Hubert Hanush, Bruce Brice, Bob Rue, Howard Mitcham, and Sister Gertrude Morgan. Rockmore himself is seated in the foreground, sans shirt, his gaze fixed upon the viewer.

Restaurant and bar owners Max Clevenger, Johnny White, and Robert “Sonny” Vaucresson are represented, as are jazz enthusiasts Larry Borenstein, Bill Russell, Allan and Sandy Jaffe, and Barbara Reid. Other notable people in the crowd are Ruth Moulon, a.k.a. Ruthie the Duck Girl; Mike Stark, a maskmaker who founded a free medical clinic on Decatur Street; Ziggy the Hat, a bookie based at the Bourbon House for many years; Mrs. Lopez, a religious French Quarter denizen who carried a heavy cross everywhere; and Gypsy Lou and Jon Webb, founders of the alternative publisher Loujon Press.

Beyond the people and monuments depicted in Homage, the piece in its entirety gives the viewer a sense of the wonder and community that existed in the French Quarter in the 1960s and ’70s. The people in Homage not only coexisted; they also often influenced one another, making the scene full of life, energy, and inspiration.

Though a small community of “Quarterites” remains, a residential community such as the one seen in Homage might not be seen again, due to rising real estate prices, fewer neighborhood goods and services, an uptick of part-time residents, and short-term rentals and timeshares.