Contact:
Teresa Devlin, Marketing Manager
 (504) 598-7170 / teresad@hnoc.org

Anne Robichaux, Marketing Associate
(504) 598-7137 / anner@hnoc.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Images Available

Contemporary Duck Decoys Come to The Collection
Birds of a Feather, a Two-Part Exhibition, Continues January 15

NEW ORLEANS, January 2008 — Birds of a Feather: Wildfowl Carving in Southeast Louisiana, a two-part exhibition exploring the craftsmanship of hand-carved wildfowl decoys from southeast Louisiana, continues on view through April 20 in the Boyd Cruise Room at The Historic New Orleans Collection’s Williams Research Center, 410 Chartres Street. The exhibition is open to the public Tuesday–Saturday, 9:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m. Admission is $6 for adults and free for THNOC members, children and students.

Part 1, Early Working Decoys, centered on decoys created for use in the field. Part 2, Contemporary Carvings, which traces the evolution of the carving tradition as a decorative and competitive art form, is on view January 15–April 20, 2008. After World War II, when the introduction of plastic decoys made their wooden counterparts less economically competitive, wildfowl carving began its transition from folk art to fine art. Represented in Part 2 are wildfowl decoys by Jimmie Vizier (continuing the tradition started by his family in the late 19th century), Tan and Jett Brunet (world-championship carvers influenced by the Vizier family), William Hanemann (inspired by his uncle Jimmie Hanemann) and other active carvers from southeast Louisiana.

Carvers featured in the exhibition are from the seven geographic regions that make up southeastern Louisiana:

• Region 1 includes Houma and the area around Bayou Terrebonne.
• Region 2 encompasses Bayou Lafourche.
• Region 3 includes Des Allemands and the Bayou Gauche area.
• Region 4 is New Orleans.
• Region 5 is the area south of New Orleans, particularly upper Plaquemines Parish.
• Region 6 comprises the area around the mouth of the Mississippi River in
  lower Plaquemines Parish.
• Region 7 is the area east of New Orleans to Shell Beach.

Editor’s Note:

• Images from the exhibition are available upon request for members of the media. Please contact Teresa Devlin (teresad@hnoc.org, (504) 598-7170) or Anne Robichaux (anner@hnoc.org, (504) 598-7137) for digital files.

Founded in 1966, The Historic New Orleans Collection is a museum, research center and publisher dedicated to the study and preservation of the history and culture of New Orleans and the Gulf South region. For more information about The Historic New Orleans Collection, please visit www.hnoc.org or call (504) 523-4662.

The Historic New Orleans Collection – Preserving our Past for a Brighter Future.

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