Photo by F. Antolin Hernandez via Wikimedia Commons.

NOMA to Display Bob Dylan’s New Orleans Paintings

The New Orleans Museum of Art will display a collection of paintings from artist and legendary singer-songwriter Bob Dylan. Billed as Bob Dylan: The New Orleans Series, the showcase will feature pieces that convey Dylan’s distinctive vision of the Crescent City.

Rampart Street Courtyard

Dylan’s take on a Rampart Street courtyard.

As Dylan famously wrote in the first volume of his autobiography, Chronicles, “There are a lot of places I like, but I like New Orleans better. There’s a thousand different angles at any moment…No action seems inappropriate here. The city is one very long poem.”

This sentiment is evident in Dylan’s paintings of the city, which were developed from sketches he drew between 1989 and 1992 (Dylan resided in New Orleans for some time while recording his 1989 album Oh Mercy). The works explore traditional New Orleans imagery like French Quarter courtyards and alleyways, as well as the private and public lives of various locals, from ministers and barbers to singers and musicians.

As previously reported, New Orleans is not the first city to host this particular collection of Dylan’s visual artwork. The series first ran in Milan, Italy’s Palazzo Reale in 2013.

“We are delighted to share this series of Bob Dylan’s paintings in a city that loves both visual art and music just in time for festival season!” said Susan M. Taylor, Montine McDaniel Freeman Director at the New Orleans Museum of Art.

Bob Dylan: The New Orleans Series will be on display in NOMA’s Great Hall from April 22 through July 31.