With its blend of romance and unabashed civic pride, the cover of Jewell’s Crescent City Illustrated reflects the optimism of a growing city. The magazine cover was part of a collection of paintings, lithographs, maps and other objects making up the exhibit “New Orleans: A Creative Odyssey.” The showing at the IDB Cultural Center gallery in Washington, D.C., coincided with the Bank’s annual meeting in that city in March.

The exhibit spanned the city’s four centuries and spotlighted the diversity of peoples and nationalities that make New Orleans the unique cultural blend it is today. Among the works on display were a color lithograph depicting the discovery of the Mississippi River, a map from 1712 showing a North American continent controlled largely by France, and a sweeping canvas commemorating the United States victory over England in the bloody Battle of New Orleans. On a lighter note, the exhibition included paintings and prints that reveal the rich cultural and architectural heritage of New Orleans as well as fine local examples of portraiture, ceramics and silverwork. Photographs of the Madewood Plantation illustrated the opulent neoclassical style favored by the city’s 19th century tobacco, sugar and cotton barons. Other photos celebrated what are arguably New Orleans’ most recognizable cultural contributions: jazz music and Mardi Gras.

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