(1895-1959)
A native of Hahnville, Louisiana, Millet came to New Orleans as a youth of seventeen to work as an apprentice in an engraving company. He became a student at Tulane University in New Orleans. In 1917, he spent the winter months in town with northerners Robert W. Grafton and Louis Oscar Griffith. Both of these artists studied in Paris and were influenced by French Impressionism. So too Millet was captivated by this popular style. In the early 20’s, he studied in New York at the Art Students League where George Bridgman was his primary instructor. In the East, he earned special attention for his painting skills including membership in the National Academy of Design and exhibition of his work at the Pennsylvania Academy, the New York World’s Fair of 1939 and the Art Institute of Chicago.
He returned to New Orleans to set up his studio in the French Quarter, joining the New Orleans Art Association and the Southern States Art League and exhibiting regularly at the Delgado Museum. Of his painting, he said: “I paint the things I know, see, and feel – I try to impart to the beholder an experience I have seen and felt.” He was also active with the Federal Arts Project of the WPA during the Depression.
