LeMieux Galleries Celebrates 40 Years

Sporting a French name that translates to “The Best”, LeMieux Galleries is living up to its hname and celebrating forty years in business. The contemporary art establishment was founded in 1983 in an old storefront on New Orleans' West Bank, and evolved from an informal gathering place into the professional fine art establishment that it is today. Since long-time employees Christy Wood and Jordan Blanton purchased the gallery from founder Denise Berthiaume in 2015, they have made LeMieux their own while effectively maintaining its reputation for high-quality art, friendly service, and a welcoming atmosphere. As Blanton told me, “We want people to pleasantly feel at home here.”

Wood and Blanton met as employees at LeMieux and were steadily promoted over the course of ten years before Berthiaume suggested the pair purchase the gallery. After running LeMieux for thirty-three years, often six days a week, Berthiaume was ready for a new challenge, but did not want to jeopardize the future of her two young staffers. “I realized that as a small gallery, we could only grow so much. I couldn’t promote them but didn’t want to lose them. So, I thought I’d see if they would be interested in buying the gallery.” Seven years later, she said she couldn’t be prouder of these two “smart, creative women.”

“‘LeMieux’ means ‘the best’ in French. I knew that I would have to live up to that.”

—Denise Berthiaume, founder of LeMieux Galleries

Stepping into LeMieux Galleries today, there is something to suit most any aesthetic palette. Whether it’s a traditional painting in oil, funky decorative objects, or even a whimsical chandelier bedecked in papier-mâché Magnolias—tantalizing art is always on view. LeMieux represents the work of nearly forty artists in addition to that of guests. Since its early days, the gallery has been known for a focus on artwork made by Louisiana and “third coast” artists, many of which are narrative pieces. In recent years, Wood and Blanton have expanded this focus to include more Southern art, as Wood describes, “from Texas to Viriginia, with some exceptions.” She described LeMieux as showing “more representational work [as opposed to abstraction] now than five years ago, which sets us apart [from other galleries nearby].”

The work of nurturing the careers of emerging artists is a particular passion point for Wood and Blanton. Among the ways they discover new artists is through an annual open-call exhibition, currently in its fifth year. For the juried show, titled And Now for Something New, entries are reviewed by two judges in order “to ensure a balanced viewpoint,”  said Wood. The chosen artworks are exhibited every August to coincide with the Arts District’s hugely popular White Linen Night—a prime opportunity for any artist to gain a lot of exposure. “It is most fulfilling to watch their careers blossom, from no one ever hearing about them to getting museum shows,” said Wood.

Showing artwork by emerging artists alongside that of long-established names like Alan Gerson, Shirley Rabe Masinter, and Bernard Mattox also allows for a wider range of price points to help the gallery fulfill its purpose to connect artists with a range of collectors and art enthusiasts. “We wanted to be able to reach people our own age and show them that you don’t have to break the bank to collect art,”  said Wood. Affectionately called “Petite LeMieux,” a special room in the gallery is devoted to the display of less expensive artworks in a wide variety of media. A virtual wonder-chamber, this small room is full of marvelous, colorful items displayed in niches, hung on walls, and even suspended from the ceiling. LeMieux also houses a full-service framing operation headed-up by Blanton, who lends her creative expertise to assisting clients in choosing just the right format.

When LeMieux Galleries opened on June 12, 1983, Berthiaume named her new business after her mother’s family name. “‘LeMieux’ means ‘the best’ in French,’’ she said. “I knew [when I named it] that I would have to live up to that.” At the time in New Orleans, and particularly on the West Bank where LeMieux originated, there was much hype and excitement centered around the upcoming Louisiana World’s Exposition and the MART (Mississippi Aerial River Transit). A gondola-style cable car ride suspended 320 feet in the air, the MART transported people 2,500 feet across the Mississippi River, connecting the Central Business District on the East Bank to the West Bank in Algiers. The MART was expected to be more than a thrill ride for the Fair; it was anticipated that it would be a significant addition to New Orleans’s mass transit system and would provide an economic boost for the West Bank. Berthiaume recalled, “I thought it would be big.” The same year that construction began on the MART, she hung her first sign on the front of an old, repurposed building on Pelican Avenue. Within the shotgun style gallery measuring no more than 800-square-feet, she displayed artworks by the likes of Mary Lee Eggert and David Lambert, artists who have remained with LeMieux ever since.

[LeMieux is not the only 40-year-old institution whose origins were inspired by the 1984 World's Exposition in New Orleans: Read about the origins of this very magazine in James Fox-Smith's Publisher's Reflections from our January issue this year, or listen to Episode 1 of DETOURS for a history of the magazine.] 

“I remember all the wonderful relationships I developed with my artists. I got to know each one, their motivation and their process,” she said. Despite the fact that the World’s Fair and the MART failed to substantially increase pedestrian traffic in Algiers, LeMieux prospered during its first four years in the neighborhood.

In 1987, Berthiaume took what she calls “a big leap” and moved LeMieux to Julia Street across the river. In the wake of the World’s Fair, the disused nineteenth-century warehouses in the business district were being bought and renovated. Berthiaume recalled that the Contemporary Arts Center (CAC) on Camp Street was already there when she moved into a building across from Galerie Simonne Stern, then operating at 518 Julia Street under Donna Perret. In 1990, LeMieux moved to its current location at 332 Julia Street. That same year, Arthur Roger Gallery arrived from Magazine Street and Chef E.J. Lagasse opened Emeril’s. “They [developers Carey Bond and Henry Lambert] wouldn’t tell me who the restaurant was going to be but that I would be very pleased,” she said. The addition of Emeril’s elevated the neighborhood’s reputation and enticed even more galleries, restaurants, and residential condominiums to the area.

Seeking to promote the neighborhood as an Arts District, Berthiaume was among the first to join Naomi Marshall, proprietor of Dixie Art Supplies, in establishing the association now known as the Arts District of New Orleans. Berthiaume recalled, “It was hard [at first] to get other galleries to join... [but] it was better for everyone in the area to become known as an arts district. New Orleans had a really fine arts scene. People were blown away by the caliber of artwork they were seeing.” The Ogden Museum of Southern Art and The National World War II Museum opened nearby after 2000. Today, the Arts District of New Orleans hosts free gallery receptions the first Saturday of every month from 6 pm–9 pm, and sponsors three major events every year: Jammin’ on Julia, White Linen Night, and Art for Arts’ Sake / Downtown.

LeMieux Galleries celebrated its fortieth anniversary throughout the month of June and commemorated its founding day with a party—complete with a cake decorated with an image of Berthiaume’s face. She said that a lot of people took the time to stop by and share stories about how much they appreciated LeMieux. When congratulated for all her accomplishments, she deflects the praise. “Christy and Jordan have done incredibly,” she said. “I couldn’t have written a better script. I am so proud of them.”   lemieuxgalleries.com