I’m a sucker for an art museum. If I’m visiting a new town, the first thing I do is check out which art museums are in the area. On a recent trip to New Orleans, I was lucky enough to visit the Ogden Museum of Southern Art. It was the first time I’d been to New Orleans and the first time I’d seen an art museum dedicated to Southern art, and I was pleasantly surprised by both the city and the museum!

Southern Art on Display

The Ogden is the largest and most comprehensive collection of Southern art. It was great to see a nice variety of topics and styles featured throughout the museum. In total, the museum includes artists from Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia, and DC.

Going into the museum, I wasn’t really sure what to expect. My experience with Southern art was pretty limited at that point, so it was really interesting to see the different types of art that was included. I enjoyed the fact that the Ogden includes art spanning the colonial period to present day.

Unlike a lot of art museums, this one balances the line between modern art and more classical styles very well. It’s this variety that feels excited to view and overall refreshing. It’s a relatively small museum, so it won’t take you ages to get through, but it’s large enough to feel like you get a solid amount of art to enjoy.

Here are just a few of the pictures I snapped while I was visiting:

Another thing I really appreciate about this museum is that the cost of entry is $10 and free for Louisiana residents on Thursdays. This is far more accessible than other museums like this, which caught my eye immediately. I firmly believe that art museums need to do way more to be accessible for everyone to enjoy — not just those who can afford $30/person. But I’ll save that conversation for another time.

To sum up everything I could say about this museum, I’ll go with: you need to visit if you’re in New Orleans.