1944-2013. Born and raised in southwest Louisiana, “Cajun Country,” George Rodrigue preserved on his canvas what he feared was his dying heritage — including its land, people, traditions and mythology. It was a Cajun legend, the loup-garou, that spawned his most famous series,
BLUE: The Life and Art of George Rodrigue is airing on public TV stations, presented by WLAE New Orleans and distributed by American Public Television. Stream exclusively with the PBS Passport app by becoming a member of your local PBS affiliate.
“I grew up feeling a strong relationship to the old things, to the old culture, and I got a stronger feeling when I went to Los Angeles to school. I really started to understand how different I was and how different my Louisiana was.”
We are thrilled to announce that “Blue – The Life and Art of George Rodrigue” has been officially nominated for the national 2026 News & Documentary Emmy Award for Outstanding Regional Documentary! View all nominees via this Hollywood Reporter article. Produced by WLAE-TV New Orleans (6th Street Studios) in association […]
I’ve always approached painting knowing that my job is not to make an accurate representation of a subject–
IT’S GOT TO TRANSCEND THAT.
In 1994, George Rodrigue brought the Blue Dog to New York.
At the Time is Always Now gallery in SoHo, the exhibition featured massive paintings — some stretching up to fifteen feet — and even a Harley-Davidson adorned in Blue Dogs at the center of the space.
It was a moment when the Blue Dog began moving beyond Louisiana and into the national spotlight.
Do you remember when you first saw one?
#georgerodrigue #bluedog #soho #newyork
💙 A major national honor for George Rodrigue’s film!
We’re incredibly proud to share that “Blue – The Life and Art of George Rodrigue” has been nominated for the **2026 News & Documentary Emmy Award** for **Outstanding Regional Documentary**.
This is one of television’s highest recognitions in nonfiction storytelling. Out of thousands of entries nationwide, only **five** documentaries were selected in this elite category — and “Blue” is among them.
After winning the 2025 Suncoast Regional Emmy for Cultural Documentary, this national nomination elevates George’s remarkable story — from his childhood battle with polio, to preserving Cajun culture, to creating the iconic Blue Dog that captured the world’s imagination — onto a much bigger stage.
It’s a powerful testament to the depth, heart, and cultural importance of his life and art.
Read the full announcement and learn more about what this means at Documentary Link in bio ⬆️
Winners will be revealed on May 28, 2026, at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City.
Huge congratulations to the @rodriguebluedogfilm director Sean O’Malley and the entire team at WLAE-TV and O’Malley Productions!
Who else is excited to see this recognition for George? Drop a 💙 below.
#BlueDog #GeorgeRodrigue #EmmyNominee #NewsDocumentaryEmmys LouisianaArt CajunCulture
George Rodrigue painted Together Forever during a period of fruitful exploration in his work. In 1998, Rodrigue took full control of his career after ending a business relationship with an art agent who helped manage his affairs for several years. This newfound freedom afforded Rodrigue the creative space to explore more possibilities for his work. Together Forever is one result of this period in Rodrigue’s career.
Painted in 1998, Together Forever, shows the blue dog paired with its alter ego, the red dog. Rodrigue renders the busts of both dogs against a black background outlined in thick strokes of purple paint, creating a minimalist composition. The composition emphasizes the painting’s saturated colors, notably the bright yellow of each dog’s eyes. Here, the dogs appear as striking shapes in the painting with no visual references to the blue dog’s origins as a depiction of the loup-garou, a Cajun werewolf dog.
Together Forever
1998
Acrylic on linen
24 x 20 in.
Recently available and Sold through Rodrigue Studios. Learn more about how to consign original Rodrigue works here: https://georgerodrigue.com/blog/blue-dog-art-consignments/
Newly available and on display at Rodrigue Studios New Orleans:
Spanish Moss
1995
Oil on linen
8 3/4 x 10 3/4 inches
Contact [email protected] to learn more
Though landscape paintings are most often associated with George Rodrigue’s early work, he painted the natural world throughout his career. Spanish Moss has the feel of one of Rodrigue’s early landscapes despite being created in 1995. In this painting, as with those early landscapes, Rodrigue divides his canvas into three core elements: the oak tree, the ground, and the sky. Here, he pays special attention to the oak tree, which is rendered in a painterly, almost impressionistic style to emphasize the moss on the tree. Though Rodrigue’s early landscapes were known for their use of dark colors, in Spanish Moss, he strikes a delicate balance between the light and dark elements, resulting in a work that depicts the subtle stylistic shifts legible in the work of an artist committed to a particular subject matter.
🐰🌕Happy Easter from Rodrigue Studios!
In George Rodrigue’s 1990 painting Don’t Turn Your Back on Your Troubles ‘Cause They’ll Just Multiply (Oil on canvas, 48 x 36 inches, Private collection), the Blue Dog stands with bunnies beneath a glowing moon. The scene serves as a direct reminder that small troubles, when ignored, tend to grow.
Even in what may appear to be his simplest compositions, Rodrigue embedded deeper lessons drawn from Cajun life and experience.
Explore the symbolism of the Blue Dog and the significance of Rodrigue’s titles in the essay:
Blue Dog: How a Cajun Legend Became a Pop Icon at Link Tree in bio ⬆️
Wishing you a peaceful and meaningful Easter.
#BlueDog #GeorgeRodrigue #Easter #CajunArt
🎨🐣 A Cajun Twist on a White House Tradition 🐣🎨
In 1989, at the invitation of First Lady Barbara Bush, Louisiana artist George Rodrigue painted three wooden Easter eggs for the annual White House Easter Egg Roll. Instead of pastel bunnies or spring flowers, Rodrigue brought the heart of Cajun Country to the South Lawn with:
• Jolie Blonde – the iconic golden-haired beauty
• The majestic Oak Tree – symbol of Louisiana’s landscapes
• Tee Coon – the rugged Cajun fisherman
These were the first Cajun eggs ever featured in a tradition that dates back to 1878, when President Rutherford B. Hayes opened the White House grounds to children for egg rolling after they were turned away from the Capitol.
Today, the original Rodrigue eggs are proudly preserved in the permanent collection of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.
A beautiful reminder that art can bridge cultures and bring a little Louisiana spirit all the way to the Washington! 💙🌳
#GeorgeRodrigue #CajunArt #BlueDogArtist #WhiteHouseEasterEggRoll #LouisianaHeritage EasterTradition
In 2003, George Rodrigue completed a powerful four-panel painting called Dependence that became an important work within his oeuvre. Each panel includes a portion of the Blue Dog’s face. The work’s four-part composition speaks to Rodrigue’s philosophy that each element of a painting depends on the others to create the whole. Rodrigue painted each panel with thoughtful precision, ensuring they told a complete story when brought together. After completing the painting, Rodrigue created a silkscreen print edition of Dependence. The print retains the painting’s vivid, textured colors. Although it’s printed on one sheet, the spacing references the four-part panel composition.
Dependence: White
2003
Silkscreen on paper
21 x 21 in.
Signed: Hand signed
Edition of 41/90
Newly available and on display at Rodrigue Studios New Orleans. Contact us to learn more at [email protected]
Discover “Andre and Kerry, Easter Sunday” a striking piece by George Rodrigue from 1980 (private collection). This 36 x 24-inch oil on canvas is our featured Catalogue Raisonné work of the week.
If you own a unique George Rodrigue artwork, the Rodrigue family invites you to share details for inclusion in the comprehensive catalogue raisonné documenting his life’s work.
For submission guidelines and more information, visit https://georgerodrigue.com/catalogue-raisonne/ or reach out at [email protected]
