George Rodrigue (American/Louisiana, 1944-2013), "The Rope from Corine Street (Swing in Opelousas)", oil on canvas, signed lower left, signed, titled and 3 "George Rodrigue" stamps on stretcher, "George Rodrigue Gallery, Lafayette, LA" label, 2 "Everson Museum" labels, one typed with artist, title and provenance and "Arvest Galleries American and European Works of Art, Boston MA" label on reverse of frame, inscribed with provenance on backing board, 24 in. x 28 1/4 in., original frame, overall 29 3/4 in. x 33 5/8 in . x 1 5/8 in.; together with Rodrigue, George. The Cajuns of George Rodrigue. Birmingham: Oxmoor House Inc., 1976. (2 pcs.). Provenance: Acquired from the artist; Roland Begneaud, Lafayette, LA; Everson Museum of Art, Syracuse, NY, 1976;Jean Bragg Antiques, New Orleans, LA, 1992. Ill.: Rodrigue, George. The Cajuns of George Rodrigue. Birmingham: Oxmoor House Inc., 1976, p. 106. H922-001 RodrigueNote: By the mid-1970s, Rodrigue had built a solid reputation for his scenes of Cajun folklife, resulting in an expanded clientele and book opportunity with Oxmoor House, publisher of Southern Living Magazine in 1976. The large format book, The Cajuns of George Rodrigue, featured carefully selected (by the artist) images of his recent paintings, including “The Rope from Corine Street / Swing in Opelousas” offered here. Each image was accompanied by Rodrigue’s descriptions in both English and French. The important volume was chosen by The National Endowment for the Arts and Rosalynn Carter as an Official White House Gift of State during the Carter administration. The paintings included in the book are the artist’s best early canvases and represent a seminal period in Rodrigue’s career. Often based on 1920s-30s period photographs from his mother’s album, Rodrigue’s Cajun paintings reflect his interpretation of a fading era and his own heritage with a contemporary and unique approach. His timeless figures inhabit a landscape unmistakably familiar and beloved by the artist. The two sources of light in “The Rope from Corine Street / Swing in Opelousas,” the girl on the swing and the sunlight beneath the trees, serve to highlight the often-shadowed landscape of Acadiana and allow Rodrigue’s Cajuns to shine from within with the hope of a displaced people. In Rodrigue’s own words: “I suspend the girl from the tree to create the illusion that the Cajun is a ghost who really never touches the ground nor the sky. This rope represents the movement in time, the movement in a culture, movement which brings changes.” Ref.: Rodrigue, George. The Cajuns of George Rodrigue. Birmingham, AL: Oxmoor House, Inc., 1976.

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