Johnny Donnels *A Selective Vision – 16″ x 20″ acrylic on canvas
Johnny Donnels: A Selective Vision
New Orleans
“I grew up in this doorway. My father Johnny Donnels had his art gallery there from just after World War II until 2009 when he passed away. The gallery had many different names over the years, but once he switched from painting to black-and-white photography, he changed it to “a Selective Vision.” What’s remarkable is that Joe has painted tiny replicas of some of Johnny’s significant photographs hanging on the walls—including one of famous jazz trumpeter Kid Thomas and one of me as a tiny ballerina.
Johnny’s studio was upstairs on the second floor, with a balcony on Royal Street. For as long as I can remember, Joe‘s parents Frank and Jan would bring Lil’ Joe to visit, and we would have crazy parties with them both singing and playing, Jan dancing, and Joe and I soaking it all up. The building itself is the famous French Quarter “Skyscraper” on the corner of Royal and St. Peter Streets, officially known as the Pedesclaux-LeMonnier building. If those cracked walls could talk!” —Lurana Donnels O’Malley