Longview Museum of Fine Arts is gearing up to unveil its new space in a former bank building on Fredonia Street around the corner from its current home. A section of the 50,000-square-foot structure is set to welcome the public Nov. 2 for a trial opening.
It will be the largest fine arts museum in the region once fully completed. Inside, visitors can see the building’s original bank vault doors, its 1960s vintage mosaic, and on the walls, a marquee art exhibit fit for an occasion long in the making. Opening day will dovetail with the first day of “George Rodrigue: Painting for Myself,” an exhibit boasting more than 50 works by the late Louisiana artist.
Rodrigue built a global reputation for his abstract paintings of blue dogs with haunting yellow eyes and moody landscapes depicting his home state. “We want this exhibit to be our first hurrah,” said Tiffany Jehorek, LMFA executive director. “It’s a beautiful show and lasts for seven months until May 3.
” Longview is the third city to display the exhibit. Two of George Rodrigue's famous dogs as seen in Banana Split Sundae, a painting to be featured in the LMFA exhibit, "George Rodrigue: Painting for Myself," opening November 2 at the museums new Fredonia Street location. (LMFA/Longview News-Journal Photo) Tentative hours for the museum at its new home are 11 a.
m. to 5 p.m.
Wednesday through Sunday. However, a temporary closure of the Fredonia Street building is planned after May 3, 2025, so work can continue. The closure could last up to a year, according to the museum.
However, for the duration of the Rodrigue show, Longview will effectively have two fine arts museums open simultaneously. Exhibits, along with summer classes, programming and staff offices will remain at the East Tyler Street building for the time being. “The board and I are striving to be more available for our community and for tourism,” Jehorek said.
A lucky few won’t have to wait till November to walk through the doors of the new museum. This year’s LMFA gala — called Magic and Martinis — offers 250 guests the chance to view the Rodrigue exhibit on the first floor of Fredonia Street building Oct. 19, two weeks before the general public.
Wendy Rodrigue, George Rodrigue’s widow, is the planned celebrity guest. Mosaic tile work is seen in the lobby at the Longview Museum of Fine Arts’ new building on Fredonia Street. (Les Hassell/Longview News-Journal Photo) The evening itinerary includes a full dinner, a menu of martinis, dancing as well as auctioned prizes.
“One of the coolest prizes is a trip to Santa Fe, New Mexico, with a private tour of Wendy Rodrigue’s home and a private art collection cocktail tour,” Jehorek said. Proceeds from the gala go toward museum operations. Individual tickets are available for $150, while a table can be reserved for $1,500.
Crews are working to ready the 1940s section of the Fredonia Street building to receive art and guests by late October. Though lights and sheetrock are some of the last boxes to check for that section — which contains the iconic bank vault — Jehorek said other portions of the structure have a ways to go. “The idea is to work on the 1960s side of the building once the Rodrigue exhibit ends in May, and perhaps there are some things we can do before then that won’t disrupt the display area,” she said.
Fundraising to complete the rest of the first phase upgrades and begin the second phase is ongoing. Jehorek estimates the renovations to the 1960s area of the building could be complete sometime in the second half of 2025. A full move from the Tyler Street location to the Fredonia Street building is partly dependent on remodeling the building’s basement, where class space and administrative offices are planned.
“My hope is we can fully move in there by the end of 2026 or early 2027,” Jehorek said. Tiffany Jehorek talks about the plans for a room being converted into gallery space Wednesday, May 15, 2024, at the Longview Museum of Fine Arts’ new building on Fredonia St. (Les Hassell/Longview News-Journal Photo) But with two museums operating concurrently between November and May, she said LMFA is in need of staff, too.
She encourages anyone interested in volunteering or docent work to get in touch with the museum. Information and tickets for the Magic and Martinis gala can be found at lmfa.org/stec_event/magic-and-martinis/ .
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