This text was obtained via automated optical character recognition.
It has not been edited and may therefore contain several errors.

---

ON THE COVER:
The Spirit Returns
2007; acrylic on canvas by Rolland Golden, painter The Historic New Orleans Collection, acquisition made possible by the Diana Helis Henry Art Fund of The Helis Foundation, 2008.0709.11;joint ownership with the New Orleans Museum of Art, the Sydney and Walda Besthoff Fund, 2007.773.10
FROM THE DIRECTOR
One of the great things about working at a place like The Collection is our variety of activity. Exhibitions close and events come and go, but the horizon is always full with new content and fresh ideas. In July we said goodbye to one of our most affecting exhibitions, Purchased Lives: New Orleans and the Domestic Slave Trade, 1808—1865.
The show garnered critical acclaim, national-news coverage, and our third-highest attendance total ever. More than 1,000 visitors came to see it in its final weekend alone, and the comments we received in the exhibition guest book were truly humbling.
As we said goodbye to Purchased Lives, though, we were busy preparing for three new exhibitions that opened in late summer. Two of them deal with Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath, one through the documentary photographs of David G. Spielman. The other features paintings by artist Rolland Golden that we acquired after the storm with assistance from The Helis Foundation. And, for the first time ever, we mounted a decorative arts exhibition in conjunction with our annual New Orleans Antiques Forum. It’s Only Natural: Flora and Fauna in Louisiana Decorative Arts marks the first multidisciplinary decorative arts show drawn entirely from our own collections, as well as the first exhibition by our curator of decorative arts, Lydia Blackmore. The Antiques Forum sold out completely, and we always enjoy bringing together such excellent speakers with an enthusiastic audience.
Though we create a steady stream of events, exhibitions, and publications, some parts of our operation are simply irreplaceable. At the end of June we said goodbye to Senior Curator/Historian John T. Magill, who, in addition to serving as resident expert on myriad aspects of New Orleans history, formed a huge part of our institutional memory. I wish John an excellent retirement and thank him on behalf of the entire staff for being an invaluable colleague and friend for so many years. —PRISCILLA LAWRENCE
CONTENTS
ON VIEW/2
Two exhibitions chronicle the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in different ways.
An Architect and His City sketches a portrait of New Orleans during the highs and lows of the mid-igth century.
Off-Site
EDUCATION/7
A suite of new lesson plans connects New Orleans to its Spanish heritage.
RESOURCES/8
THNOC to launch a new digital collection of needlework textiles.
COMMUNITY / TO
On the Job
Staff News
Recently Retired
Become a Member
On the Scene
Focus on Philanthropy
Donors	►
ACQUISITIONS /18
Acquisition Spotlight: an 18th-century manuscript exposes France's contingency plans for Quebec.
Recent Additions