Port of New Orleans by Rolland Golden
(American, 1931-2019)
This painting features a Lykes Brothers ship, a common sight on the New Orleans waterfront in the 1950s when they were a major carrier of cotton, grain and lumber.
Golden began this painting in 1959. At the time he was a young artist living with his wife in the French Quarter and, having served in the Navy, he had a particular interest in the shipping activity along the busy downtown riverfront. Daily the Goldens would take walks along this stretch of the Mississippi, and Golden made many paintings featuring working boats as his subject matter.
After starting the painting in 1959, Golden set it aside, unfinished, for several decades but came back to it and completed it in 2010, making it a fascinating bridge between eras both stylistically and culturally.
Golden is a superlative draftsman and his textural effects are unsurpassed. As in a symphony orchestra, each brushstroke, like an instrument, must be uniquely identifiable yet contribute harmoniously to the whole. In Port of New Orleans, one can veritably hear the iron sides of the ship echoing as the cargo is loaded and smell the water of the “Muddy Mississippi” as it churns with numerous currents at the hairpin turn of the river that gave the Crescent City its name.
The enormity and majesty of the ship is conveyed by the slightly exaggerated perspective, echoing the golden age of travel, when noble Cunard liners were featured in popular posters that remain collectible today. Behind it stands the International House and Trade Mart (later the World Trade Center), a landmark of the downtown riverfront and a symbol of progress when it was built.
Today, the downtown waterfront is mostly pedestrian, with cargo ships such as this one making their way further upriver to be unloaded. Golden’s “Port of New Orleans” is a great illustration of how crucial this business was to the development of New Orleans, and how important the Mississippi River is to all of America as our greatest shipping route.
Golden is one of Louisiana’s artistic success stories. After serving in the Navy during World War II, he returned home to New Orleans and enrolled in John McCrady’s Art School. McCrady himself studied under Thomas Hart Benton at the Art Student’s League of New York, so Golden’s artistic lineage follows a similar line to Edward Hopper, Rockwell Kent, Norman Rockwell, and even Jackson Pollack.
Rigorously trained by McCrady in composition and life drawing, Golden further developed his recognizable artistic voice in a direction that emphasized emotion (through his use of color) and philosophical thought (through compositional interruptions and a slight surrealism in his subject matter).
Golden was highly accomplished, and his career spanned eight decades. He received numerous awards and honors during his lifetime (visit our website for his complete C.V.).
Rolland Golden passed away in 2019; his work still commands an active collectorship due to its timeless qualities.
Golden’s work can be found in museums throughout the U.S. as well as the New Orleans Museum of Art, Ogden Museum of Southern Art, Historic New Orleans Collection, and in many corporate collections throughout the south. Travelers can also see many of his works throughout Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport.
Rolland Golden Port of New Orleans painting featuring a Lykes Brothers cargo ship on the Mississippi River