The Lauren Rogers Museum of Art: A hidden gem

Hidden in a beautiful tree lined neighborhood full of wonderful old homes in the small south Mississippi town of Laurel, lies a hidden gem of an art museum. The Lauren Rogers Museum of Art is housed in a beautiful 27,500 square foot building, half of which is gallery space. The museum was established in 1923 by the wealthy Rogers family in honor of their son who passed away at just 23 years old.

I've visited the museum numerous times over the last ten years and I'm always amazed that such impressive works of art can be found in this rather small southern museum. While in college just a few miles down the road at the University of Southern Mississippi, I did't even know the museum existed. Unfortunately, even now, many native Mississippian's are blissfully unaware of this little gem. It's really quite a shame because the museum is quite good.

The American Gallery

As you enter the museum, you are greeted with a spacious lobby surrounded by a wonderful reading room to your left and on the right a library that houses over 10,000 volumes of art reference books. If you enjoy reading about art and viewing art, this is the place for you!

Since my last visit, the museum has reorganized the way the paintings in their American Collecetion are exhibited. Most art museums have the artwork displayed in whats called gallery style, where the paintings are hung side by side along the walls. This was how the museum looked on my last visit. Now the museum has most of their collection hung in a very traditional French salon style where the pieces are grouped together and works are hung from floor to ceiling. While I do find this makes it more difficult to see some of the works, it is a good look for a small museum like this. Strangely though, the European collection is still hung gallery style.

When the museum was first established, the Rogers family, wealthy from the huge timber industry that powered the economy of southeastern Mississippi, donated fine examples of art work from American masters such as Winslow Homer, George Iness and Albert Bierstadt! Later the museum added pieces by the great John Singer Sargent, Mary Cassatt and John Henry Twatchman. In addition to the wonderful American art, the museum also houses a small but significant European collection with paintings from  Jean Francois Millet, Camille Corot, Eugene Boudin and Adolph Breton among others. One very small piece to search out is an etching by the great master Rembrandt titled Virgin and Child with Cat. It's a small work, but worth seeing.

Entrance to the Port at Dunkirk (1889) Eugene Boudin

A Glimpse of Long Island Sound from Montauk (1907) Thomas Moran

The collection also includes fantastic works by modern American greats Robert Henri, John Sloan, and Reginald Marsh who gained fame as the Ashcan School of Art. Other artists represented in the collection are Childe Hassam, Alexander Calder and John Heliker.

The Brown Wrap (1911) Robert Henri

Top - Daily Life by the Kitchen Door (1917) John Sloan
Bottom - East River (1952) Reginald Marsh

Stevedore (1937) Richmond Barthe'

While all of the above are impressive, my favorite pieces are found in the modern and contemporary collections housed here. Many of the fine artists in the museums collection are nationally known, but hail from the south. Included in the collection are Walter Anderson, Marie Hull, Karl Wolfe, Richmond Barthe', Dusti Bonge and William Dunlap from Mississippi as well as Ellsworth Woodward, Ida Kholmyer, Alan Flattman and Roland Golden from New Orleans.

Circus Series 90-2 (1990-94) Ida Kholmeyer

Robert Johnson (2010) Sean Star Wars

 In addition to the fine paintings and sculputures, the museum houses a very nice collection of Native American baskets, Georgian Silver and a small Japanese prints gallery. And, of course like any good art museum, the Lauren Rogers Museum has a number of visiting exhibitions each year that are always a treat to see. So next the next time you find yourself near the small Mississippi town of Laurel, take some time to stop in and visit the Lauren Rogers Museum of Art. You'll be glad you did!