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George Rodrigue (March 13, 1944 – December 14, 2013) was an American artist originally from New Iberia, Louisiana, who in the late 1960s began painting (Louisiana landscapes ), followed soon after by (outdoor family gatherings ) and southwest Louisiana 19th century and early 20th century (genre scenes ). His paintings often include (moss-clad oak trees ), common to an area of French Louisiana known as Acadiana. In the mid-1990s Rodrigue's (Blue Dog paintings ), based on a Cajun legend called ''loup-garou'', catapulted him to worldwide fame. His funeral mass was open to the public, held St. Louis Cathedral in Jackson Square, New Orleans. ==Biography== Rodrigue attended the Brothers of the Christian Schools all-male high school called St. Peter's College, (now Catholic High School) which was located near St. Peter's Church, and near the banks of the Bayou Teche running through New Iberia. He studied art formally at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette (then named the University of Southwestern Louisiana) and the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California. He (returned to Louisiana ) in the late 1960s, and became well known for his interpretations of Cajun subjects and landscapes, inspired by his roots. Rodrigue’s early notable works include ''(The Aioli Dinner )'', which divides its time between the New Orleans Museum of Art and the Ogden Museum of Southern Art, and ''(The Class of Marie Courrege )'', which won an (Honorable Mention from Le Salon ) in Paris France, 1975, prompting the French newspaper, ''Le Figaro'', to dub Rodrigue "America's Rousseau." His most famous works include the Acadian heroine, Evangeline, portrayed in Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s epic poem, ''Evangeline: A Tale of Acadie'' (1847)〔(A History of Evangeline in Rodrigue Paintings )〕 and the Cajun modern-day Evangeline, Jolie Blonde.〔(From Jolie Blonde to Bodies: Paintings of Women )〕 He also designed (three posters ) for the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, which feature portraits of Louis Armstrong, Pete Fountain and Al Hirt. Between 1985 and 1989, Rodrigue painted the ''Saga of the Acadians'', a series of fifteen paintings chronicling the Acadian journey from France to Nova Scotia to Louisiana and ending with the official return visit to Grand Pré.〔(The Saga of the Acadians )〕 More recently and worldwide he is known for his creation of the ''Blue Dog'' series of paintings, featuring a blue-hued dog. He used the shape and stance of his deceased dog named (Tiffany ) and was primarily influenced by the ''loup-garou'' legend—the (first painting in the series ) bears the title ''Watch Dog'', painted for ''Bayou'', a book of Louisiana ghost stories. The ''Blue Dog'' was made popular by Absolut Vodka in 1992, when Rodrigue was honored as an (Absolut Vodka artist ), joining famous artists such as Andy Warhol and glass artist Hans Godo Frabel. The ''Blue Dog'' was used by both Absolut Vodka and the Xerox Corporation through (national ad campaigns ). The blue-hued, ghostly spaniel/terrier is often featured with a white nose and yellow eyes. Rodrigue has galleries in (Carmel, California ); Lafayette, Louisiana; and (New Orleans, Louisiana ). In 2007, the Dixon Galleries and Gardens hosted a 40-year Rodrigue retrospective exhibition, which traveled in 2008 to the New Orleans Museum of Art. He was awarded an honorary doctorate at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette on May 17, 2009. In 2011 the Boy Scouts of America honored Rodrigue with the (Distinguished Eagle Award ). In 2013 he received the Opus Award from the Ogden Museum of Southern Art. Early in 1984, Rodrigue was part of a large contingent of supporters of Edwin Edwards who joined Edwards in a celebration tour of France and Belgium. Each paid $10,000 to retire the lingering $4.2 million campaign debt. Edwards had just scored his third term as governor of Louisiana by unseating the Republican David C. Treen. On a train in Paris, Rodrigue sketched his oak tree symbol on the menus of Edwards supporters, including Don Hathaway of Shreveport, then the sheriff of Caddo Parish in northwestern Louisiana. In 2004, Rodrigue came to Shreveport with another incoming Democratic governor, Kathleen Blanco of Lafayette, with whom he made an appearance at the Louisiana State Exhibit Museum, where he autographed Hathaway's menu from more than twenty years earlier. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「George Rodrigue」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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