From the Big Apple to the Big Easy: Two Carnival Artists

Mardi Gras may have come and gone, but the spirit of the carnival season never ends in New Orleans. This exhibition of sixty-five original watercolor costume sketches and two original gowns focuses on the work of two accomplished Carnival costume designers, Helen Clark Warren and John C. Scheffler. Warren, a Massachusetts native, designed elaborate costumes for kings, queens, and captains of various New Orleans krewes from the 1930s to the 1950s while maintaining a thriving fashion-design career in New York City. Native New Orleanian John Scheffler gave up a career in architecture in the mid-1960s to work in New York as a theater set and costume designer. On the side, he designed costumes for Mardi Gras krewes. Scheffler’s work has never before been exhibited publicly in New Orleans, but will have a home in The Presbytère museum from now through 2016. Admission is $6 for adults and $5 for seniors, students, and active military. Free for children under 12. Open Tuesday–Sunday, 10 am–4:30 pm. (504) 568-6968. neworleansonline.com.