by John Ed Bradley, Author/Writer/Art Collector
I’ll be speaking about the life of artist Cora Kelley Ward at the Arts Fest at Baton Rouge Community College on Wednesday, March 20th, 2024, from 12 noon to 1:00 p.m. in the Dumas Conference Room in the Magnolia Building, first floor.
The presentation is open to the public and free of charge. In addition to a talk and Questions and Answers, I’ll be showing over a hundred images that depict the artist’s life and work.
Ward grew up in rural South Louisiana in a patch of the Cajun prairie between Eunice and Church Point. Three years ago, Garden & Gun Magazine published a story I wrote about her called Unearthing the Art of Cora Kelley Ward.
The artist, who died in 1989, was all but forgotten until the Hilliard Art Museum in Lafayette sold off 800 of her paintings and drawings in May of 2012. Mid-century masterworks were arranged on the floor of the museum’s loading bay and offered at two dollars and a dollar per square foot, creating an unforgettable experience for collectors.
In December of last year, a Ward canvas that would’ve sold for $48 at the Hilliard sale fetched $28,280 at Neal Auction Company in New Orleans.
Ward studied at Newcomb College in New Orleans, Black Mountain College in North Carolina, and the New Bauhaus in Chicago before moving to Greenwich Village in New York City in 1955 and becoming an Abstract Expressionist. Among her friends were giants of the era, including Helen Frankenthaler, Kenneth Noland, and Clement Greenberg.
Ward was a brilliant artist and courageous person who’s finally enjoying the recognition that eluded her in her lifetime. I just hope my talk does her justice. Collectors and admirers of the mid-century aesthetic, friends and family, please come if you’re able to.
Download a map of the campus. The Magnolia Building is #7. Parking will be available in front of the building.
Photos of some of the art created by Cora Kelley Ward
