Courtesy of the Life and Legacy Foundation
As part of her Life & Legacy Tours, Wendy Rodrigue Magnus visits schools across the country, giving presentations on the life and work of the late artist George Rodrigue.
Since 2017, Wendy Rodrigue Magnus has made it her mission to share the inspired story of her late husband George Rodrigue, one of Louisiana's most iconic and beloved visual artists, with the world. More profoundly, she has worked to introduce his legacy—along with a passion for the arts and for Louisiana—to nearly 45,000 students through her presentations at schools across the United States.
This November, after a pandemic-induced hiatus, Magnus has returned to Louisiana, bringing George's original paintings and stories to six local schools, including Trinity Episcopal School in New Orleans, Church Point High School, St. Jude the Apostle School in Baton Rouge, North Lewis Elementary School in New Iberia, St. James Place Retirement Community in Baton Rouge, and St. Martin Gifted Center in Ocean Springs, Mississippi.
The tour culminated on November 17 and 18 with a visit to George Rodrigue's alma mater, Catholic High School in New Iberia.This special stop marked Magnus's one hundredth Life & Legacy Tour presentation, a serendipitous and happy coincidence that came as the result of a freak accident that caused Magnus to break her kneecap earlier this year.
"As originally scheduled, my 100th school on the Life & Legacy Tour would have been a New Orleans school, which is great, and I was excited," she said. "But then, [after the accident, I was forced] to rearrange much of the schedule, including postponing many dates until February. It’s almost as though George looked down and said, 'If you can’t figure out that my alma mater should be your 100th school, then I’ll break your kneecap!' I got the message; it’s happening; and George’s alma mater, the root of stories and paintings surrounding the Creature from the Black Lagoon, Tee Coon the Janitor, and classic Cajun works of his school class, is now the 100th school on this tour."
Magnus said that she was deeply looking forward to reminding the students at Catholic High that they walked the same halls as this giant of an artist, and that they have the same potential to follow their dreams. "This is one of the greatest honors and delights of my life," she said.
On November 19, Magnus also served as Mistress of Ceremonies for New Iberia's annual "A Taste of Main" tree lighting celebration, where she made the exciting announcement that she is gifting the Bayou Teche Museum with a donation of $100,000.
"I’ve been thinking about this donation for a long time, close to three years," she said. "In my head, I tossed around dollar figures, all lower than this one, but still significant, and like nothing I’ve ever done in my life. When Catholic High became my 100th school, $100,000 became the figure. The Bayou Teche Museum and the people of New Iberia have been magnanimous in their generosity in honoring George Rodrigue. They form great ideas, and they follow through."
The gift will be used to expand the museum's permanent exhibit Rodrigue Comes Home, which features a selection of Rodrigue's artwork and a true-to-life reconstruction of the artist's studio; to maintain up-keep of the George Rodrigue Park on the National Register Historic District; and to install a new permanent exhibit, which will honor the legacy of Louisiana's only female governor Governor Kathleen Babineaux Blanco (1942–2019).
"I have never felt more sure of a donation," said Magnus. "The Bayou Teche Museum and the people of New Iberia continue to follow through on their promises. The least I can do is support their efforts with a significant donation that shows I’m committed to the town that George loved best."
Learn more about the Life & Legacy Foundation at legacyarttour.org.
