Welcome to Laura
by Cheri Randolph
Title
Welcome to Laura
Artist
Cheri Randolph
Medium
Photograph
Description
Laura Plantation is a sugar plantation located on the banks of the Mississippi River near Vacherie, Louisiana. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places because it is one of the few surviving examples of a raised Creole plantation house. The colors selected for the restoration of the house are replicas of the original ones, showing us that not all plantation homes were painted the traditional "white".
Construction of Guillaume Duparc's manor house began in 1804 and completed 11 months later. The work was executed by highly-skilled slaves, probably of Senegalese descent, in pre-fabricated methods, typical of early Louisiana vernacular structures. This "maison principale" was raised high above ground, resting on blue-gray glazed brick columns and walls, supported underground by an 8-foot deep pyramidal brick foundation. The cypress superstructure was inlaid with locally fired brick (briquette-entre-pôteau), plastered inside and stuccoed outside, with a brightly painted (red, ochre, green and pearl) exterior. This U-shaped structure totaled approx. 24,000 sq. ft. and had a 2,500 sq. ft. detached kitchen to its rear. At Duparc's death in 1808, the l'habitation consisted of 10 sizable buildings, including quarters for 17 slaves, a barn, warehouses and a small, rudimentary sugar mill.
It is also significant because Alcee Fortier, who later became Professor of Romance Languages and folklore at Tulane University, was said to have collected Louisiana Creole versions of the West African Br'er Rabbit stories here in the 1870s.
In addition, the parents and family of U.S. singer-songwriter Fats Domino ("Blueberry Hill") had lived on the plantation. .
Uploaded
August 24th, 2012
Statistics
Viewed 190 Times - Last Visitor from White Plains, NY on 02/27/2024 at 10:19 AM
Embed
Share
Sales Sheet
Comments (17)
Cheri Randolph
Nadine & Bob, Many thanks for featuring my work in the Artist News publication. I appreciate your support!
Nadine and Bob Johnston
Congratulations, on The Publication of your work in - Artist News - an Internet Weekly... http://paper.li/f-1343723559#
Cheri Randolph
Nadine & Bob, Thanks very much for featuring "Welcome to Laura" in the Artists News Group!
Randy Rosenberger
Cheri, I just love all the fine elements of this piece, from the inlaid walkway to the building colors to the pottery, and what a great composition of historical beauty! f/v
Cheri Randolph replied:
Randy, Many thanks for such nice promotional support for this photo. It is a fascinating place, and I hope that you are able to visit sometime.
Elena Nosyreva
Beautiful historic place, Cheri! And beautiful geometrical patterns created by wooden fencing!
Heiko Koehrer-Wagner
This is a beautiful find with all the different colors, very well represented in this picture, Cheri! ... we voted .... Heiko and Helga
Cheri Randolph replied:
Heiko & Helga, Many thanks for your compliment and vote. I appreciate you visiting my gallery.
Bob Hislop
A great capture, the colors are very unique in the plantation world. Sidebar is very interesting. v
Cheri Randolph
Lianne, glad that you enjoyed this so much. Information on Laura is fun to share because it has such a colorful history, a lot of which has been well-preserved. Thanks for the V/F!
Cheri Randolph
Susan, Thanks for your nice comment and v/f. I'm glad that you appreciated the history - it is interesting, I think.
Lianne Schneider
Just love this - one of my favorite (and most colorful places) plantations and thank you so much for all the wonderful information too Cheri. F.V
Susan Capuano
Beautifully composed to showcase this fine old plantation, excellent work Cheri and interesting history also! v/f