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Cutting Squash (Leah Chase)

National Portrait Gallery

Object Details

Artist
Gustave Blache III, born 1977
Sitter
Leah Chase, 6 Jan 1923 - 1 Jun 2019
Exhibition Label
Born Madisonville, Louisiana
The undisputed “Queen of Creole Cuisine,” Leah Chase was a restaurateur and world-renowned chef who championed civil rights. After working as a server in “whites only” venues in New Orleans’s French Quarter, she married jazz musician Edgar “Dooky” Chase Jr. in 1946 and joined the family restaurant business.
Defying segregation laws, Leah Chase seated both Black and white customers at Dooky Chase’s Restaurant. It was one of the few places in Jim Crow–era New Orleans where civil rights activists of all races could gather publicly to strategize. “In my dining room, we changed the course of America over a bowl of gumbo and some fried chicken,” Chase recalled.
Later in her life, she advocated for the arts, an endeavor she considered an important part of her legacy. The artist Gustave Blache III, who often depicts people at work, documented Chase in the kitchen for a series of portraits.
Nacida en Madisonville, Luisiana
Indiscutida “reina de la cocina creole”, Leah Chase fue dueña de un restaurante, chef de fama internacional y defensora de los derechos civiles. Luego de trabajar como mesera en lugares “solo para blancos” en el Barrio Francés de Nueva Orleans, se casó con el músico de jazz Edgar “Dooky” Chase Jr. en 1946 y se integró a su restaurante familiar.
Desafiando las leyes segregacionistas, Leah Chase recibía a clientes negros y blancos en el Dooky Chase’s Restaurant. Era uno de los pocos lugares de la época en Nueva Orleans donde activistas de todas las razas podían reunirse en público para discutir estrategias. “En mi comedor cambiamos el curso de Estados Unidos con gumbo y pollo frito”, recordó Chase.
Más tarde fue propulsora de las artes, labor que consideraba parte importante de su legado. El artista Gustave Blache III, quien suele presentar a sus modelos trabajando, captó a Chase en la cocina como parte de una serie de retratos.
Credit Line
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; gift of the artist in honor of Mr. Richard C. Colton, Jr.
2010
Object number
C/NPG.2011.144
Restrictions & Rights
Usage conditions apply
Copyright
© Gustave Blache III
Type
Painting
Medium
Oil on panel
Dimensions
Stretcher: 21.6 x 25.4cm (8 1/2 x 10")
Frame: 37.1 x 43.8 x 3.8cm (14 5/8 x 17 1/4 x 1 1/2")
Place
United States\Louisiana\Orleans\New Orleans
See more items in
National Portrait Gallery Collection
Exhibition
2025 Summer Rotations
On View
NPG, South Gallery 342
National Portrait Gallery
Topic
Costume\Apron
Container\Pot
Home Furnishings\Dishes
Equipment\Culinary Equipment\Kitchen utensil
Food
Interior\Kitchen
Home Furnishings\Stove
Container\Pot\Cooking
Nature & Environment\Vegetable\Squash
Costume\Headgear\Hat\Cap\Baseball cap
Leah Chase: Female
Leah Chase: Business and Finance\Tradesman\Culinary Arts\Chef
Portrait
Record ID
npg_C_NPG.2011.144
Metadata Usage (text)
Usage conditions apply
GUID (Link to Original Record)
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/sm4571160f7-8497-4895-8c54-d7e47ebacf1e

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