Artist Nestor Fruge (b. 1916) grew up in the small Louisiana town of Bayou Lafourche. His French Quarter scenes are well-known and ubiquitous in New Orleans, but he also painted in Mexico, Paris and NYC. When in New Orleans, he often set up his easel in Jackson Square, joining the other painters there – a scene which still goes on today. Fruge ran an art school in New Orleans between 1949 and 1952.

Artist Nestor Fruge: iconic New Orleans artist of the French Quarter

Fruge’s watercolors are ubiquitous, instantly recognizable and iconic. His subjects tended to cluster around certain areas – not surprisingly, since he carried his easel around to these areas which are all in somewhat close proximity to one another. Some of these common subjects include the back side of St. Louis Cathedral, with the statue of the so-called “Touchdown Jesus”; Pirate’s Alley; and the front of St. Louis Cathedral.