George Rodrigue New Iberia, Louisiana, USA, 1944-2013

George Rodrigue was born in New Iberia, Louisiana, in 1944, and died in 2013.

He began his art education at age 13 through correspondence courses from the Minneapolis School of Art Instruction. He later attended the University of Southwest Louisiana in Lafayette, majoring in Art, and followed up with graduate studies in Graphic Arts at the Art Center College of Design in Los Angeles.

The first of his famous Blue Dog paintings, for which he is recognized, dates back to 1986, after a period of landscapes and portraits. He received numerous awards throughout his life, such as the Gold Medal from the Academy of Literature, Arts, and Science of Rome; he was also honored as Artist of the Year by the American Liver Foundation in Birmingham, Alabama; and he received the Lifetime Achievement Arts Award from the State of Louisiana. The U.S. government commissioned paintings from him, and he also created book covers, advertisements, and children's books.

Some of Rodrigue's solo exhibitions were at Munchick & Franks Fine Arts, London; Le Salon des Artistes, Paris; Arvest Gallery, Boston; Decatur Gallery, New Orleans; McLean County Arts Center, Illinois; SOHO Gallery, New York; Pensacola Museum of Art, Florida; Gwinett County Arts Museum, Atlanta, Georgia; and the New Orleans Museum of Art, among others.

The Rodrigue Studios are located in New Orleans and Carmel, California, while the George Rodrigue Museum is in Acadian Village, Lafayette, Louisiana.