Caroline Durieux

In a career that spanned half a century, Caroline Durieux made her mark as a master of lithography, creating prints that chronicled the beauty and absurdity of academia, New Orleans's famed Carnival season, the characters Durieux observed in everyday life, and more. Caroline Durieux: Lithographs of the Thirties and Forties brings together fifty-eight images that reveal her keen understanding of both the comic and tragic aspects of satire and establish her place within the tradition of American satirical art, as art historian Richard Cox reveals in his accompanying text.

Born in New Orleans in 1917, Caroline Durieux spent several years with her husband in Cuba and Mexico City, settings that would inspire some of her earliest forays into lithography. Her time in Mexico also brought her into contact with Diego Rivera, whose enthusiasm for her work would bring her national and international attention. Upon her return to the United States, she taught art classes and held several positions for the Works Progress Administration (WPA), where she championed local artists and oversaw the creation of an index of Louisiana art, as well as numerous public art projects. The prints collected in this volume showcase Durieux's humor as well as her keen eye for the scenes and people she encountered in Louisiana and abroad.