Louisiana Museum Foundation is a nonprofit that supports, administers funding, and raises awareness for the state-owned and operated Louisiana State Museum System.

Founders Ball 2025

LMF’s mission is to preserve, present and promote Louisiana’s history and culture through the provision of services in support of the collections, exhibitions and educational programming of the Louisiana State Museum.  Established in 1981, we are a nonprofit organization that fundraises on behalf of the LSM through grants, community and individual donations, corporate sponsorship and fundraising events.

Who we are

  • Lloyd N. Shields
    President

    Marjorie A. McKeithen
    Vice President

    Kathleen Parke Edmundson
    Secretary

    Douglas W. Finegan
    Treasurer

    Renee F. Carrere
    At-Large

    Benjamin A. Dupuy
    At-Large

    T. Semmes Favrot
    At-Large

    Melissa Douglass Steiner
    At-Large

    Jeremy Corkern
    At-Large

  • E. Tiffany Adler

    Mariah W. Bencik

    Beau J. Box

    Julie F. Breitmeyer

    Ralph O. Brennan

    Johannah M. Brown

    Ryan E. Burks

    Helen Nalty Butcher

    Murray A. Calhoun

    Mary L. Cavanaugh

    Dorothy M. Clyne

    Scott P. Cunningham

    Kevin Ferguson

    Dana M. Hansel

    Lesli Harris

    William H. Hines

    Philip N. Hodges

    Noel Johnson

    Diane Sustendal Labouisse

    Seth A. Levine

    Eugene A. Priestley

    Anne Flower Redd

    Permele Doyle Robinson

    Tia Nolan Roddy

    Aulston G. Taylor

  • Adler's
    Ms. E. Tiffany Adler
    Anne Atkinson
    Ms. Julie F. Breitmeyer
    Susan & Ralph O. Brennan
    Joey & Buzzy Brown
    Stephanie & Ryan Burks
    Helen & Kim Butcher
    Mr. & Mrs. Murray A. Calhoun
    Mrs. Renee Carrere
    Ms. Mary L. Cavanaugh
    Sarah & Cayman Clevenger
    Ms. Dorothy Clyne
    Ms. Courtney Coleman
    Mr. Jeremy Corkern
    Ms. Caroline Crumley
    Brady & Scott Cunningham
    Crescent Sterling, Ltd. / Howard Thompson
    Dr. David DeGenova
    Dr. Kristi Soileau DeGenova
    Mr. Richard Dragisic & Mr. Bill Brockschmidt
    Mr. & Mrs. Benjamin A. Dupuy
    Ms. Kathleen Parke Edmundson
    Mr. Richmond Ellis
    Mr. & Mrs. T. Semmes Favrot
    Mr. & Mrs. Kevin Ferguson
    Mr. Collin Ferguson
    Caroline & Douglas Finegan
    Mr. & Mrs. Bryan W. Fitzpatrick
    Mrs. Lorey Flick & Mr. Joel Roberts
    Peggy & Timber Floyd
    Dr. Michelle Carr Frank
    Pam D. Friedler
    Ms. Valerie Grubb
    Gayle & Tom Benson Charitable Foundation
    Goldring Family Foundation
    Ryan Gootee General Contractors
    Gulf Coast Bank & Trust
    Dana Meeks Hansel
    Ashley & Colby Hebert
    Mrs. Lesli Harris & Mr. Jeff Bromberger
    The Helis Foundation
    Mr. and Mrs. William H. Hines
    Jane Scott & Philip N. Hodges
    Ashley Porter & Martin Holly
    Mr. Gregory Holt
    Mr. Andrew Lamar Hopkins
    Hancock Whitney Bank
    Mr. & Mrs. Noel Johnson
    Eugenie & Joseph Jones Family Foundation
    Jones Walker
    Mr. Terri Lacy
    Mr. James Lapeyre Jr.
    Ms. Courtney Le Clercq
    Paul Leaman, Jr.
    Elizabeth Zuschlag LeBlanc & Ross Kenneth LeBlanc
    Mrs. Alexa Pulitzer & Mr. Seth Levine
    Angela Lacour & Michael Rash II
    Kelsie & Andrew Marcus
    Denise Reno & Demond Matsuo
    Marjorie A. McKeithen & Scott Schlesinger
    Mr. James Michalopoulos
    Mr. Kerry P. Moody
    Ms. Denise Morse
    William C. & Theodosia Murphy Nolan Foundation
    New Orleans & Company
    Ochsner Health
    Mr. William King Offutt
    Mr. Roger Ogden
    Mr. Eugene Priestley
    Anne & Edmund E. Redd
    Permele & Garner Robinson
    Mr. & Mrs. James Roddy
    Mr. Andre Rodrigue
    Mr. & Mrs. Jacques Rodrigue
    Mrs. Wendy Rodrigue Magnus
    Mr. & Mrs. Jayson Seidman
    Mr. William Henry Shane
    Mr. & Mrs. Lloyd N. Shields
    Mr. Richard N. Sherman
    Mr. Gary Solomon
    Ms. Rivers Spencer
    Melissa & Jerry Steiner
    Mr. & Mrs. Jerome D. Steiner
    Ms. Diane M. Sustendal Labouisse
    Patrick F. Taylor Foundation
    Sevetri & Aulston Taylor
    Dr. & Mrs. Lee Terrell
    The John W. & Bertie Murphy Deming Foundation
    Ms. Patricia Unangst
    Service Corporation International
    Fern & Kevin Watters
    Mr. Christopher Wise
    Williamson Eye Center
    Vulcan Materials Company
    Zuschlag Family Foundation

We make history happen. Our primary arms of service support the Louisiana State Museum’s education and conservation efforts. From costumes and ephemera illustrating the history of Carnival in Louisiana to comprehensive judicial and civil records of French and Spanish colonial rule from 1718 to 1803 and more — LSM preserves, researches and exhibits artifacts from a permanent collection of nearly 500,000 objects. 

What we do

  • George Rodrigue Rodrigue Before the Blue Dog

    Rodrigue: Before the Blue Dog

    Before George Rodrigue's Blue Dog paintings catapulted him to international fame, the artist was already known for his dark, often ghostly, depictions of the Cajun landscape, culture, and people. The exhibition is loosely divided into six thematic areas, all related to Cajun culture: landscapes, language and legends, families and communities, music, foodways, and way of life. Curated by Joyce Miller, this exhibition will run from November 23, 2024 - September 28, 2025.

  • Hunt Slonem: A Retrospective

    This retrospective explores Slonem’s profound connection with this poetic city and the impact of its exotic mystique on his artistic vision. Paintings and sculpture lent exclusively by Louisiana patrons and museums are explored in an art historical context, and the precedents for his painterly style and subject matter are briefly considered. The painter’s sources of inspiration in Louisiana are explored.

  • Creole New Orleans, Honey! The Art of Andrew LaMar Hopkins

    Creole New Orleans, Honey! The Art of Andrew LaMar Hopkins accompanies an exhibition of the same name on view at the Cabildo from November 22, 2022, through September 30, 2023. Published by the Louisiana Museum Foundation, the catalog features seventy of Hopkins’s unique paintings, as well as images of the Louisiana State Museum artifacts that inspired some of them. The catalog, edited by co-curator and Louisiana State Museum historian Joyce Miller, also includes five scholarly essays exploring nineteenth-century Creole culture in New Orleans.

  • Mystery in Motion: African American Masking and Spirituality in Mardi Gras

    This exhibition examined the direct influence of multicultural spirituality within the carnival traditions of Black New Orleanians.  The exhibit was on display from February 13, 2021, through November 28, 2021 and served as the centerpiece of the museum's planned programming to celebrate the 2021 carnival season.

  • Baroness Pontalba and the Rise of Jackson Square Exhibit

    The exhibit opened to the public Sunday December 2nd, 2018. The Louisiana Museum Foundation celebrated the closing tricentennial events at the Cabildo as the Louisiana State Museum featured the 18th-century New Orleans philanthropist, Don Andrés Almonester and his daughter, Micaela Almonester, Baroness de Pontalba.

We support all educational programming at Louisiana State Museums

From school field trips to online content, adult multi-session courses in activities such as beading or printmaking, to jazz yoga or mindfulness classes, we welcome all ages to participate in various programming throughout the year.

We seek out and administer grants from organizations like The Getty Foundation to the National Endowment for the Humanities to the National Science Museum and more — all to fuel Louisiana State Museums’ exhibits, digitize the collections, and execute various crucial projects for the vast network of museums. But we can’t survive on grants alone, as it often takes many hands and over 12 months to launch a new exhibition. Every donation counts and is tax deductible. We pride ourselves on ensuring that received donations are expended per the donor’s wishes.

How we do it