State Library of Louisiana

The State Library of Louisiana is hosting a new exhibit featuring portraits by George Rodrigue. The exhibit, Walker Percy, Sylvester Stallone and the Blue Dog features 10 Rodrigue paintings, one of which features his famous Blue Dog. The exhibit will be displayed at the library from Oct. 1 to Nov. 30. During the Louisiana Book Festival on Oct. 27, Rodrigue will host a forum about the exhibit from noon until 12:30 p.m.

Nine of the portraits are part of a series Rodrigue painted during the 1980s of guest lecturers who took part in the Flora Levy Lecture Series at the then-University of Southwest Louisiana, now ULL. The portraits include authors Walter Percy and Shirley Ann Grau and artistic allusions to John Kennedy Toole and Robert Penn Warren.

The tenth portrait, , Rodrigue’s 6-foot tall painting featuring Sylvester Stallone as his famed character Rocky with the Blue Dog, is being exhibited for the first time.

“The early portraits represent classic literature, developing into pop culture through phenomena like The Moviegoer, All the King’s Men and A Confederacy of Dunces,” Rodrigue said. “Stallone’s contribution is a continuation of this tradition, combining a strong, iconic character with the medium of film.”

Rodrigue began painting as a boy growing up in New Iberia. In addition to the Blue Dog series, he has painted oak trees, Cajuns, hurricanes, Louisiana governors and U.S. presidents.

For more information on the Louisiana Book Festival, visit www.LouisianaBookFestival.org.

– www.LouisianaTravel.com –

 

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