Inspired by the exhibition “Brilliant Exiles: American Women in Paris, 1900 – 1939” and by a new publication project, the Georgia Museum of Art at the University of Georgia is presenting a focused selection of works by American painter Louise Heron Blair in the hallway of its permanent collection wing. Installed the week of November 17, the display highlights an artist whose distinctive voice deserves closer attention.
Born in Richmond, Virginia, in 1905, Blair studied English at Bryn Mawr College before traveling to Paris in 1927. In Paris, she began studying art and developed a personal approach to painting that centered on landscapes, portraits and intimate domestic scenes. Her portraits reveal an interest in character and personality, demonstrated by her images of family members, neighbors and local figures. Her landscape works capture the distinctive light and architecture of Mediterranean villages, while her self-portraits offer insight into her evolving sense of identity as an artist.
Though often discussed in relation to her husband, Catalan-American artist Pierre Daura, Blair’s work shows a distinct sensitivity to light, composition and everyday life. Her paintings capture moments of quiet observation and a deep engagement with the spaces and people around her.
The installation includes six works selected by Nelda Damiano, the museum’s Pierre Daura Curator of European Art, including one of her most recognizable works, a self-portrait from 1929 that shows her in a striking red beret and patterned dress against a backdrop of a tapestry with lush foliage. This painting was on view in “Brilliant Exiles,” and was one of Blair’s favorites. A letter Blair wrote to her mother in which she describes her daily life in Paris and describes the self-portrait appears nearby. The museum is working on a book of Blair’s letters titled “Much Love, from Paris,” the sign-off with which she closed most of her missives home.
The selection emphasizes Blair’s independent artistic voice and the important role she played within the creative Daura family — especially as a source of inspiration to Pierre. It offers visitors an opportunity to appreciate her work on its own terms and as a significant contribution to 20th-century American art.
The Georgia Museum’s Daura Collection consists of more than 600 works by Pierre and Louise, donated by their daughter Martha Randolph Daura, as well as their archive. This new display reflects the museum’s commitment to preserving and sharing the broader Daura legacy while drawing attention to under-recognized artists whose work deepens our understanding of the period.
Authored by:
Leticia Nogbe
