James Mounger, a New Orleans real-estate lawyer who never stopped collecting art to adorn his Uptown home and was beloved in the art community, died Monday at his home. He was 82.
The cause of death has not been determined, said Timothy Ratchford, his companion.
Mounger’s boundless joy in acquiring all kinds of art, especially pieces by Louisiana artists, kept propelling him to openings and galleries so he could meet artists and learn about — and acquire — their work, said Arthur Roger, the owner of a gallery bearing his name.
Mounger’s artworks, which he frequently moved around, dominated his home. They included works by such artists as George Dureau, Robert Gordy, Ida Kohlmeyer, Lin Emery, Douglas Bourgeois and Mitchell Gaudet. Woodworks were on display, as well as kinetic figures, video installations and objects that happened to strike his fancy.
“There was no thinking of investment or status or anything,” Roger said. “It was just a driving force for him. … There was no agenda as far as impressing anyone or needing to have a certain piece in his collection. He would collect people’s works and put them together. There was no category. They were assembled in his house and reflected his joy of collecting.”
Because Mounger supported so many Louisiana artists, “being a part of Jim Mounger’s collection was a really big deal,” said Steven Callan, co-owner of Callan Contemporary gallery. “I can’t think of a kinder, nicer individual in this city who really built such a big collection.”
In expanding his holdings, Callan said Mounger told him he relied on his gut. “He said, ‘When I look at a piece and it speaks to me, I know that it’s a good piece of work. … I know what I know. I know when something moves me.”
More than 100 pieces in all sorts of media adorn Mounger’s two-story house, which was redesigned to accommodate his continually growing collection. A dominant piece is a massive blown-glass chandelier by Dale Chihuly that weighs 400 pounds — and required Mounger to hire a structural engineer to fortify the ceiling.
A massive blown-glass chandelier by artist Dale Chihuly is central to the main space. Mounger hired a structural engineer to fortify the ceiling to support the piece, then Chihuly flew in with a team to install it.
His art was “his pride and joy,” Ratchford said in a 2024 interview for InsideOut, adding that the art-filled house made Mounger feel “safe, complete.”
And Mounger thoroughly enjoyed it. “The wonderful thing about collecting is that you develop friendships with the artists and get to know such interesting people,” he said in a December 2020 interview for Adore magazine. “I had lunch with John Waters when he was in town. He was such a nice guy.”
He didn’t stop with the interior. For every conceivable holiday, he had the exterior decorated lavishly. One year at Mardi Gras, for instance, big, golden stars hung from the balconies, and purple and green swags were draped over the front entrance. When the COVID pandemic shut everything down, Mounger had signs hung thanking health care workers and urging the virus to go away.
His home, a frequent site for parties, reflected what Callan called Mounger’s “childlike wonder about pageantry.”
Carnival decorations join the art collection of Jim Mounger in his Nashville Avenue home.
The glamorous world in which Mounger moved was a sharp contrast to his humble beginnings in Rayville, where he was an orphan who was adopted by Charles James Mounger, a cattle rancher, and Essie Adams Mounger, a businesswoman.
He graduated from Rayville High School and earned an undergraduate degree at Centenary High School and a law degree at Southern Methodist University.
After passing the bar examination in 1968, Mounger practiced law in Rayville before moving to New Orleans. He embarked on his life as a collector when, as a fledgling lawyer, he bought a piece of Ida Kohlmeyer’s work from the artist herself, who sold it for what she called “Jim’s price,” Mounger said in the InsideOut interview.
A pattern was set and a reputation was born, built on Mounger’s respect for artists and the time they need to create.
“He didn’t even try to bargain,” a gallery owner told Roger for the InsideOut story. “He was nice. He showed respect.”
Central on a table in the backyard seating area is a sculpture by local artist Blainey Kern, surrounded by egret carvings Mounger bought from the back of a truck in Baton Rouge. Furniture is from Design Within Reach.
“His eye was great,” Callan said. “He was able to refine his taste over the years in developing his collection. Jim was indicative of a man who was self-made, loved art and used art as a springboard for his own creative life and the many friendships he nurtured over the years.”
It’s unclear what will happen to Mounger’s collection now.
His marriage to Faye Cannon ended in divorce. She survives him, as do Ratchford and a sister, Dianne Mounger Doty-Lopez of Marrero.
A memorial service will be held at 5 p.m. Dec. 4 at Jacob Schoen & Son Funeral Home, 3824 Canal St.
Burial will be private.
