Every 10 years, the US government performs a census, gathering the country’s demographic data to assess representation and the distribution of resources. Similarly, museums should conduct periodic assessments of their holdings to understand what they have and identify any gaps to fill through future collecting. To that end, I recently undertook a census of HNOC’s portrait collection, surveying the demographic statistics of the people represented and the artists who created these works. By cataloging these details, the curatorial staff can gain a better understanding of our holdings and assess how they support our mission as stewards of the history and culture of New Orleans and the Gulf South. Whose likenesses have we collected? Who is represented in our collections, and who is missing?

The portrait census surveyed 500 original paintings of individuals, comprising the vast majority of painted portraits in our holdings. The paintings span nearly 300 years of New Orleans history, with the earliest dating to the mid-18th century. There is a rough bell curve that peaks around 1900; half of the paintings surveyed were created in the 1800s. For each portrait, I sought to determine the sitter’s race, gender, age cohort, name, and occupation, as well as whether the person was an enslaver—although in many cases, not all of these details were available.

Self-portrait, 1845, by Jacques Guillame Lucien Amans (HNOC, gift of M. Truman Woodward Jr., 1986.193)

There is a nearly even split between apparent male and female sitters, with 250 depictions of women and 247 of men; in three portraits, the sitter’s gender was unknown. In terms of race, 90 percent of the portrait sitters are white, 8 percent appear to be Black (including both enslaved Black people and free people of color), and 1 percent are Native American. Of the five portraits depicting Native Americans, one might be a white person in a costume, and the remaining four are idealized characters.

Nearly a quarter of the surveyed portraits do not have known identities. These unidentified portraits inspired HNOC’s 2024 student writing contest and an interactive exhibition, Unknown Sitters. The demographics of these unknown sitters differ from those of the broader collection, skewing to larger proportions of minorities. Adult, white, male sitters are more likely to be identified, while portrayals of women and Black individuals are less likely to be named and more likely to be genre or caricature depictions. For example, of the 41 portraits of Black sitters in the census, only 17 are identified. All of the 19th-century depictions of Black people are unidentified.

Portrait of an unknown man in glasses, 1995, by Douglas Bourgeois (HNOC, gift of the estate of Dr. Jerah Johnson, 2018.023.18)

When the subject of a portrait was identified, historical research often supplied other personal details. I was able to pinpoint the occupations of nearly half of the sitters. The most common occupation among our portraits is artist—both through self-portraits and via depictions by fellow artists. Military and politics are the next most common fields, and many sitters, such as Andrew Jackson and Zachary Taylor, had careers in both arenas. Although they are not the most common careers, it is interesting to note that we have portraits of at least two pirates; four portraits of people who worked at building, captaining, or financing steamboats; and three portraits of historians.

Historical records also helped me to identify 30 percent of the known sitters as enslavers. Three of the Black sitters are listed as possible enslavers; it was not uncommon for elite free people of color in New Orleans—the people wealthy enough to have their portraits painted—to own slaves. Of the 500 portraits surveyed, there is just a single depiction of an enslaved person.

About 85 percent of the paintings are by known artists, comprising a total of 191 unique artists. Three-quarters of the works are by male artists, and almost all of the known artists are white. There are only four portraits known to be by Black artists, all of whom are male.

Portrait of Marilyn Barnett, 1962, by Eleanor Kohlmeyer (HNOC, gift of Marilyn Barnett, 2009.0368.1)

After performing this census, it is clear that there are gaps in HNOC’s portrait collection. We have a disproportionate representation of 19th-century white male enslavers, painted by white male artists, which does not facilitate the full interpretation of our region’s complex history. Acquiring works by artists of color, works by female artists, works with known Black sitters, and more representations of and works by people of Indigenous, Asian, and Latinx descent will help to fill these gaps. Just as the US Census helps determine how resources are allocated across the country, the portrait census will inform the Collection’s future priorities for acquiring and preserving historic portraiture.