About Author Catherine Whitney
I discovered New Orleans many years ago when I attended a business conference – not understanding the city had played a role in my own existence.
Catherine Whitney at the Historic New Orleans Collection at 520 Royal Street in the French Quarter, site of the former Arts & Crafts Club where her grandfather, Dan Whitney once taught art. Photo by Ellis Anderson
Yet, I was immediately infatuated and felt an inexplicable connection. The pull to return was irresistable and I started visiting occasionally.
During one of my visits, I thought of my grandmother’s portrait from my childhood home, painted by my grandfather in New Orleans in 1925. It triggered a memory that I had a family history in the city.
My grandparents had been married in New Orleans and my father had been born there. However, the marriage lasted only a few years, ending with my grandmother and father relocating to New York City. I was born and raised in the Northeast, so my family orientation was not Southern.
Catherine, the author’s namesake, in Japan, photo in the collection of Catherine Whitney
Although I don’t have a firm belief in fate, it seemed as though I was on a guided path to discover the marvels of New Orleans.
I learned of the Quarter’s art colony that began blooming in the 1920s and was fascinated by the image of artists living in close proximity among the eloquent antiquity of the residences and inspiring one another.
I stumbled across the Historic New Orleans Collection where I found a file with information about my grandfather. Their collection also contained several of his paintings.
This kick-started a research journey wherein I reached out to people I didn’t know in search of information about Dan Whitney. They were all warm, welcoming, interesting and intriguing. Several became dear friends.
This experience gave rise to my love affair with New Orleans - the people and the place. I was so inspired by the city that I moved here and now live among the painters, writers, and musicians. Here, everyday life is an art form.
In Painting Catherine, I have blended my passion for New Orleans with what I have learned in my years of research.
I offer this book as my homage to this extraordinary place and the artists of its past and present – and its future.
Catherine at 911 Chartres, where her grandfather had an art studio nearly a century ago. Photo by Ellis Anderson
Catherine on her way to a second line at the Jazz Museum
