KnowLA is a comprehensive, dynamic online reference guide to the history and culture of Louisiana. The encyclopedia is accessible to anyone with a web-enabled device, free of charge.
French artist Jacques Amans was the leading portraitist in New Orleans during the 1840s and 1850s. Read »
Audubon, John James
Artist John James Audubon completed some of his most notable paintings for “The Birds of America” while in Louisiana. Read »
Bastrop, Felipe Enrique Neri, Baron de
Felipe Enrique Neri, although deceptive about his own lineage, nevertheless played an important role in the settlement of the Ouachita Valley in northeast Louisiana. Read »
Boqueta de Woiseri, John L.
An itinerant artist, John L. Boqueta de Woiseri announced his arrival in New Orleans on May 28, 1803. Read »
Bousillage
Bousillage, a mixture of clay and straw or Spanish moss used for insulation, is a distinguishing feature of Louisiana’s architectural past. Read »
Brewster, Edmund
Edmund Brewster arrived in New Orleans from Philadelphia in 1819 and was recognized immediately as a talented young artist. Read »
Buisson, Pierre Benjamin
Pierre Benjamin Buisson was a talented architect, engineer, surveyor, and publisher, was born in Paris, France, and migrated to New Orleans while in his early twenties where he advanced his career with work on major public buildings. Read »
Cabildo
The Cabildo, one of three eighteenth-century structures that anchor New Orleans' Jackson Square, stands as a visual monument to Spanish rule in New Orleans, as well as one of the nation’s most significant historical landmarks. Read »
Cajun Folklife
Cajun folklife is a field of study that describes, catalogs, and deciphers meaning within the vernacular culture of Acadian refugees who settled in Louisiana. Read »
Cajuns
Cajuns are the descendants of Acadian exiles from the Maritime provinces of Canada—Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island—who migrated to southern Louisiana. Read »
Cajuns in Literature
Acadians, Cajuns, and their history became part of American literature, often represented through romantic myth. Read »
Canova, Dominico
Born in Italy, Dominico Canova spent many years painting frescoes in banks, churches, and private homes in New Orleans and southern Louisiana. Read »
Claiborne, William Charles Cole
William Charles Cole Claiborne was governor of Louisiana during the Louisiana Purchase and the slave rebellion of 1811. Read »
Classical Music
Louisiana has boasted a rich classical music traditional since early European exploration and settlement. Read »
Collas, Louis Antoine
Louis Antoine Collas was an adept and very popular miniature portrait painter who regularly traveled to Louisiana to paint plantation owners and merchants. Read »
Cookbooks
Beginning in the mid-nineteenth century, several Louisiana cookbooks collected the diverse cooking styles of Creole New Orleans. Crescent city cookbooks continued to represent Louisiana throughout the next century Read »
Coulon, George David, and family
The works of Louisiana artist George David Coulon are known for the meticulous detail and the jewel-like quality of his portraits and landscapes, most of which were painted between 1839 and 1902. Read »
Creoles
The term "Creole" has long generated confusion and controversy. The word invites debate because it possesses several meanings, some of which concern the innately sensitive subjects of race and ethnicity. Read »
Destrehan, Jean Noel
As one of the most prominent Mississippi River plantation owners of colonial Louisiana, Jean Noël Destrehan built a prosperous farming operation around the stately River Road manor that still bears his family name. Read »
Duval, Ambrose
French artist Ambrose Duval achieved success as a miniature portrait painter in New Orleans in the early nineteenth century. Read »
