Gordon W. Bailey, esteemed advocate, scholar, and collector, has made a significant cultural contribution by donating 16 compelling artworks to the Ogden Museum of Southern Art in New Orleans, Louisiana. This transformative gift features works by notable artists such as Leroy Almon, Eddie Arning, Roy Ferdinand, Daniel Johnston, Barbie L’Hoste, John K. Lawson, Jake “J.T.” McCord, Samuel Pace, Juanita Rogers, Welmon Sharlhorne, and Herbert Singleton.
“We are an institution dedicated to telling the story of the South through the region’s visual arts, and Mr. Bailey’s important gift will prove crucial in that endeavor,” said Bradley Sumrall, Curator of the Collection. “His advocacy and support of artists and the art of the American South, especially the visionary outliers, is truly inspiring. This collection adds significantly to the Museum’s holdings, allowing us to more fully define our region through the artists that give voice to the culture.”
The gift includes several noteworthy pieces: Arning’s Untitled (fox hunter), a large mixed-media work on paper; Johnston’s Follow Your Dreams, dedicated to his late friend and collaborator Brett Hartenbach; Atlas, a life-sized mixed-media skeleton, and The Bard of Beer, a paper collage on wood by John K. Lawson, an artist renowned for his recycled Mardi Gras bead creations; Samuel Pace’s tribute to jazz legend John Coltrane; rare superhero drawings—Molecule Man, The Cylinder, and Torch—by New Orleans artist Welmon Sharlhorne, along with a unique scrapbook compiled during his incarceration; and a striking painted wood bas-relief by Herbert Singleton.
Notably, the works of L’Hoste, Lawson, McCord, Pace, and Rogers are new additions to the Ogden’s permanent collection.
Bailey reflects on his connection with the Ogden Museum: “My first interaction with the Ogden was during Prospect 3 Notes for Now when I was asked by my friend Franklin Sirmans, then P3’s Artistic Director, now the Director of the Perez Art Museum Miami, to loan several Herbert Singleton works for the exhibition Herbert Singleton: Inside Out/Outside In which was hosted by the Ogden. Bradley Sumrall impressed me with his depth of knowledge and his commitment. During subsequent chats with Bradley, it became clear to me that the Ogden was particularly suited to care for these works.
Over the past 15 years, Bailey has generously contributed multi-piece collections to numerous prestigious institutions, including the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), Museum of Contemporary Art Jacksonville (MOCA JAX), Ohr-O’Keefe Museum of Art, Palm Springs Art Museum, Pérez Art Museum Miami, and the Smithsonian American Art Museum.
