In a complex of historic French Quarter buildings at 533 Royal Street, The Collection operates a museum with changing exhibitions, the Williams Residence (a house museum) and museum shop. The Williams Research Center at 410 Chartres Street is an archive, which comprises some 35,000 library items, more than two miles of documents and manuscripts, and approximately 350,000 photographs, prints, drawings, paintings, and other artifacts along with changing exhibitions.

Williams Research Center
410 Chartres Street (map)
New Orleans, LA 70130
504-523-4662
Hours: Tuesday–Saturday,
9:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m.

This project was made possible in part through the generous financial support of the Collins C. Diboll Private Foundation.

For Doug and Elaine Grundmeyer, onetime high school sweethearts at Ben Franklin, the connections run deep. Both New Orleans natives—she grew up in Gentilly, while he was raised in Algiers—they treasure the city’s vibrancy and resiliency. Happily settled now in the Garden District, they can map their family histories across the regional landscape. Elaine’s father, Joseph Harold Toscano, a construction superintendent, helped to build the Superdome—while Doug’s dad, Raymond, an entrepreneur, founded a chain of auto-supply stores on the West Bank. Doug’s maternal grandparents and earlier Lanaux ancestors ran a citrus plantation in Plaquemines Parish.

A passion for culture pervades the Grundmeyer home. Doug, a board member of Southern Rep theater, brings a master’s degree in literature and a flair for writing to his work as an appellate lawyer with Chaffe McCall L.L.P. Elaine, in turn, credits her love of the theatrical to her mother, Lillian Bennett. Indeed, a fascination with “movie stars and Hollywood” enticed her to California for college at UCLA and Berkeley. She and Doug settled on the West Coast early in their marriage, but they were soon drawn home by a desire to raise their daughter, Sarah, near her grandparents and extended family. Sarah later became a classical ballerina and international dancer.

The lure of family was one of the first things that brought Elaine to The Historic New Orleans Collection. She perused sacramental record indices and other genealogical resources to trace her family’s roots back to Bordeaux, Nantes, and other locations in Europe. And she turned to the archives, again, in search of a more contemporary connection.

Like so many readers, Elaine had been charmed by John Kennedy Toole’s posthumous classic, A Confederacy of Dunces—and struck by the familiarity of the novel’s cast of eccentrics. But in Elaine’s case, the familiarity was of a different degree. “I would read the stories, and I would say, these are like my family stories,” she recalls. And then she learned that Thelma Toole, the author’s mother, was a Ducoing by birth. “That’s one of our family names,” Elaine explains, “and I thought, well let me see if I can track it back.” Her curiosity brought her to the Williams Research Center, where “it didn’t take that long at all to find the person who connected everybody together.” Thelma was from “the same area where my mother had grown up, in Faubourg Marigny, near Elysian Fields. My mother grew up on Dauphine Street—and I grew up hearing about Dauphine Street, which always sounded so exotic and wonderful!”

After Katrina, the Grundmeyers found renewal at The Collection. “You were open and sharing your resources,” Doug notes, recalling that THNOC was the first museum in the city to reopen after the storm. “The crews were still in the streets, first responders were still here, and yet we could go to The Historic New Orleans Collection.” Elaine concurs: “I had been doing my research right before Katrina, and when I found myself going back, getting back to my research, I wanted to cry. It just felt like such a continuation, a sign that the city would survive, and that we all would.”

Doug and Elaine are proud to be members of The Collection’s Laussat Society. They appreciate the fellowship that comes with membership—and, they both chime in, “the parties!”

Enthusiastic patrons of the arts, the Grundmeyers encourage others to get involved, too. “I think that this generation after Katrina is really going to be remembered,” Elaine muses. “This is really the time for everybody to step up.”

And, as Doug explains, “you see the results” of membership in The Collection. “You’re carrying on the tradition. It’s a living, vibrant organization. You’re not just preserving artifacts, you are part of the future.”

As he describes it, “a good friend once gave me the following advice on living: ‘Always make others feel comfortable, worthwhile, and loved.’ I have adopted this motto in my life and work, and I believe that The Collection emulates it in all that it does.” Trapolin is struck by the integrity with which the staff carries out the institution’s mission. “They are modest custodians for New Orleans, its oral traditions, and its ways of life,” says Trapolin. “The Collection is the only place to which I would entrust my family artifacts because to me The Collection is family.”

Born in St. Vincent’s Orphanage in Kansas City, Missouri, in 1945, Trapolin was adopted by his parents, Winter and Thelma Mae Mouledoux Trapolin, both New Orleans natives, when he was eight months old. “I was raised to feel very loved and wanted,” says Trapolin. His father and mother were both civil and human rights activists, and they taught the young Trapolin the importance of social justice and community service. “My father used to say, ‘what’s more important is your backbone not your background,’” says Trapolin.

From an early age Trapolin took an interest in art. “I drew constantly,” he muses. His first major work was an ice-pick carving of Christopher Columbus and his ships on the top of his parents’ prized Duncan Phyfe dining room table. Needless to say, this masterpiece by a seven-year-old Trapolin was not well received.

The artist perfected his drawing abilities during his three years as a student of architecture at Tulane University, and after graduating with a degree from the art department, he went on to study at the Royal College of Art in London. Trapolin returned to New Orleans, where he taught and eventually became the head of the art department at Louise S. McGehee School—the highlight of his teaching career. He still holds the school in deep regard, and his thriving portrait painting business grew out of his connections with the McGehee School family.

Trapolin’s studio in the front room of his 1872 shotgun in the Riverbend neighborhood is covered from ceiling to floor with photographs of loved ones and current and past subjects. In September 1987 the first retrospective of his portraiture was presented at The Collection’s former exhibition space at 521 Tchoupitoulas Street. In addition to his successful career, Trapolin is an active member of Trinity Episcopal Church, where he has volunteered weekly for 27 years and regularly participates in the church’s annual medical mission to Nicaragua. He loves music, people (he has 29 godchildren), and traveling. When asked about his favorite destination, he says, “the next place; the unexplored.”

Trapolin’s home is filled with mementos from his travels as well as his own works and those of other local artists. Two of his prized pieces are the proclamations he created for the Rex organization in 2004 and 2011. “I love the fact that Rex is for everyone,” says Trapolin. The oldest parading Mardi Gras krewe, Rex is known for its motto, “pro bono publico” (“for the public good”). Since its inception in 1872, the organization has been dedicated to civic service and has made an effort to be a community organization, publicizing its membership and king and queen. It is this tradition of openness that Trapolin also finds at The Collection. In his words, “THNOC is not just a repository for history and art, it is alive. And everyone is welcome and encouraged to get involved.”

To those interested in The Collection, Trapolin, a member of the Laussat Society, says, “There are so many ways to participate—attend the programs, visit the exhibitions, actively volunteer, and, first and foremost, become a member. It’s a way to make a statement of commitment. I like having a commitment to The Collection because I feel that I belong there.” Trapolin has a physical connection to The Collection as well. His great-grandfather, Jean Baptiste Trapolin, built the house on Toulouse Street in 1889 that became the home of THNOC founders Kemper and Leila Williams, today the Williams Residence. By supporting the institution, Trapolin believes that he is “investing in my future, investing in my city, and investing in something I believe in.”

For more information on becoming a member of The Collection, click here or call (504) 598-7109. All calls are confidential and without obligation.

Jay D. Edwards
Professor of Geography and Anthropology, Louisiana State University
“A History of the Shotgun House in New Orleans”

Lo Faber
PhD candidate, History, Princeton University
“Building the Land of Dreams: The American Transformation of New Orleans, 1795–1820”

David Morrill Schlitt
PhD candidate, History, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
“Under the Dome: Enclosed Multi-Use Stadiums and the Metropolitan Landscape, 1965–2005”

Cameron B. Strang
PhD candidate, History, University of Texas at Austin
“Entangled Knowledge, Expanding Nation: Science and the United States Empire in the Southeast Borderlands”

The annual fellowship supports scholarly research on the history and culture of Louisiana and the Gulf South. Since the fellowship’s inception in 2006, 17 fellows have been awarded stipends to conduct research at the Williams Research Center. While THNOC resources should play a central role in the proposed research agenda, fellows are also encouraged to explore other research facilities in the Greater New Orleans area. More . . .

Carolyn Parker on Porch, Holy Cross, 2006, photoprint face mounted to plexiglass by Stephen Wilkes, Gift of Stephen and Bette Wilkes (2011.0195.15)

Presented in conjunction with PhotoNOLA 2011, this exhibition tells the stories of Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, and the Holy Cross neighborhood of New Orleans’s Ninth Ward—two historic communities united by disaster and the struggle to preserve their heritage and rebuild the social fabric that is integral to their neighborhoods. In the spring and summer of 2006, photographer Stephen Wilkes documented the damage wrought by Katrina in these two areas. He also photographed and recorded the stories of the people committed to rescuing the past for the future of their historic communities.

In Katrina’s Wake: Restoring a Sense of Place,
Photographs by Stephen Wilkes
December 8, 2011–March 3, 2012
Williams Research Center, 410 Chartres Street
Tuesday–Saturday, 9:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m.
Free and open to the public.

February 24– June 17, 2012
533 Royal St.
Free and open to the public.

From the ports of the Caribbean up the twisting Mississippi to French Canada, this groundbreaking exhibition traces the emergence of the distinctive craftsmanship of Creole America—what the New York Times called “a signature Louisiana style.” More than fifty pieces of furniture, from nearly two dozen collections, will be on display, along with tools, hardware, wood samples and interactive components designed to bring early Louisiana furniture-making to life.

This exhibition complements The Historic New Orleans Collection’s recent publication Furnishing Louisiana: Creole and Acadian Furniture, 1735–1835, available for purchase at www.hnoc.org and major online retailers.

The Collection will present four events in conjunction with this exhibition. Reservations are recommended and may be made by emailing wrc@hnoc.orgor calling (504) 523-4662.

Lecture: Historic Finishes
Friday, April 20 • 6–8 p.m.
Williams Research Center, 410 Chartres St.
Free; reservations suggested
Salt Lake City–based conservator Stephen Shepherd will discuss finishes used on historic furniture. He appears in costume to demonstrate the wardrobe and techniques of a 19th-century craftsman.

Demonstration: Seat Treatments
Saturday, May 12 • 9 a.m.–noon
533 Royal St.
Free; reservations suggested
New Orleanian Mary Cooper will demonstrate different techniques used in crafting the seating surfaces on traditional Louisiana chairs—caning, corn shuck/rush, split oak and cotton tape.

Site Visit: LSU Rural Life Museum
Saturday, May 19 • Full day
$60/person (round-trip bus departs New Orleans 8:30 a.m.)
$30/person (drive yourself)
The LSU Rural Life Museum in Baton Rouge, with more than 30 historic buildings on site, is the perfect place to observe the technology and architectural settings associated with the production and use of early Louisiana furniture. Following a tour, museum director David Floyd will address the group over a jambalaya lunch.

Workshop: Bench Making
Saturday, June 2 • 9 a.m.–4 p.m.
533 Royal St.
$130 (includes all materials) • Limited to 12 participants
Louisiana craftsman Greg Arceneaux will lead participants through the steps involved in building a small traditional bench.

The exhibition includes more than 40 fine prints, with landscapes, portraits and interior scenes. Featured artists include William Woodward, Morris Henry Hobbs, Clarence Millet and Sarah Estelle Agnes (Sadie) Irvine.

Fine Prints from the Permanent Collection
Opening March 14, 2012
Gallery hours: Tuesday–Saturday, 9:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m.
Williams Research Center, 410 Chartres St. in the French Quarter
Free and open to the public 

Generations; 1970s; lithograph by Henry Casselli; partial gift of Dr. James W. Nelson (2008.0216.20)

The Collection is pleased to host the Tennessee Williams Scholars Conference, where literary and theatre experts share their insights on the creative work of one of America’s greatest playwrights. The conference is moderated by Robert Bray, professor of English at Middle Tennessee State University and editor of the Tennessee Williams Annual Review. A complete schedule of paper topics will be posted online in the coming weeks. Visit www.tennesseewilliams.net for festival and ticket information.