Although people think of music and food when they think of New Orleans, the city's serious artists and galleries have remained something of a secret for many visitors, and even many locals. True, there are a few very fine galleries in the French Quarter, but most of the others along those ancient arteries are in the business of selling "cute" or "quaint" pictures to tourists. No, this is not the serious local art scene, folks—except for those few that deal in real art.

The real art scene i...