LSU Museum of Art will bring Paris to Baton Rouge

Thanks to its second consecutive Kickstarter success

The public has spoken, and 19th century French art is coming this fall to the LSU Museum of Art.

The museum gained public funding through its latest Kickstarter program to help bring works from Henri Toulouse-Lautrec, Mary Cassatt and others of the “La Belle Époque” art period to Baton Rouge. Project funding ended Tuesday, Jan. 13, and the museum raised $15,371 over 60 days.

Money from the fundraiser will go toward acquiring a collection of works named “Toulouse-Lautrec and La Vie Moderne,” which will be shown at the LSU Museum of Art Sept. 5-Nov. 15. Supporters who pledged $50 or more will get his or her name on a wall near the entrance of the exhibition. Those names will be displayed for the duration of the showcase.

This is the second consecutive Kickstarter success for the museum. Last year’s “Love Local Art” $2,000 fundraiser allowed the museum to secure funding for Silas Breaux’s “Dwelling” installation, on display in the museum’s lobby through March 26.

Sarah Cortell Vandersypen is the director of museum advancement and associate director of development. She says the upcoming exhibit is the most ambitious showcase anyone in Baton Rouge has undertaken.

“This exhibit brings together 185 works from some of France’s most famous artists,” Vandersypen says. “This is high-quality art from artists you don’t normally see in Baton Rouge.”

A majority of the work is coming from private Dutch collectors, she says, and the Capital City is the only place in Louisiana to host the international exhibit. “Toulouse-Lautrec and La Vie Moderne” will also feature memorabilia from the era, such as playbills, shadow puppets and remnants of Parisian theaters. The exhibit will also give the museum an opportunity to discuss French cultural history and the preservation of French language in the state.

For more information on the LSU Museum of Art, click here.