About This Event
Join us for the 13th Annual Women’s Leadership Luncheon featuring guest speaker Wendy Rodrigue Magnus on Thursday, March 19, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. in the Mabee Room, located in the Garrison United Methodist Campus Center, as we celebrate McMurry’s tradition of women leaders and award three scholarships to deserving female students.
Wendy Rodrigue Magnus is an author, storyteller, arts advocate, and founder of the Life & Legacy Foundation. Her passion for art history first led her to George Rodrigue’s French Quarter gallery in 1991, and as fate would have it, she began a lifetime with the world-renowned artist George Rodrigue, best known for the Blue Dog (1944–2013). The couple married in 1997, and Wendy partnered with Rodrigue throughout his career, contributing to the development of his galleries, museum exhibitions, a dozen books on his art, and expansive education outreach within schools.
Originally from Florida, Wendy studied Art History at Trinity University in San Antonio, followed by the American University in Vienna, Austria, and later pursued graduate studies at Tulane University in New Orleans. After managing Rodrigue’s galleries for 28 years—including locations in New Orleans, Carmel, California, and Munich, Germany—Wendy devoted herself full-time to nonprofit work centered on arts education and the preservation of George Rodrigue’s personal and artistic legacy. Through her Life & Legacy Foundation, she embarks on bi-annual, coast-to-coast tours and has personally delivered some 800 presentations in schools, universities, museums, and other venues. She shares original Rodrigue paintings from her private collection, combining intimate installations with the art of storytelling.
Since 2017, Wendy and her team have produced 22 Rodrigue museum exhibitions across eight states.“In 2017, I established the Life & Legacy Foundation because I believe, as George Rodrigue did, in the importance of active, in-person engagement through storytelling and the arts. This interaction nurtures creative thinking, promotes honest dialogue, encourages respect for diverse opinions, and establishes imagination as the key to it all.”
For this Women’s Leadership Luncheon, Wendy will present “Footnote: Wife to a Blue Dog Man,” a theme drawn from her deeply personal journey of resilience and self-definition. As the longtime partner of a celebrated artist, she once questioned whether she existed merely as a footnote in someone else’s story. Today, she speaks candidly about claiming her own relevance, impact, and voice. Through intimate storytelling and original artworks from her private collection, Wendy invites women to reflect on identity, legacy, and the courage required to stand fully in their own light.
Today, when not on the road for Life & Legacy, Wendy lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico, with her current husband, Douglas Magnus, also an artist and a longtime friend to George Rodrigue.
About This Event
Join us for the 13th Annual Women’s Leadership Luncheon featuring guest speaker Wendy Rodrigue Magnus on Thursday, March 19, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. in the Mabee Room, located in the Garrison United Methodist Campus Center, as we celebrate McMurry’s tradition of women leaders and award three scholarships to deserving female students.
Wendy Rodrigue Magnus is an author, storyteller, arts advocate, and founder of the Life & Legacy Foundation. Her passion for art history first led her to George Rodrigue’s French Quarter gallery in 1991, and as fate would have it, she began a lifetime with the world-renowned artist George Rodrigue, best known for the Blue Dog (1944–2013). The couple married in 1997, and Wendy partnered with Rodrigue throughout his career, contributing to the development of his galleries, museum exhibitions, a dozen books on his art, and expansive education outreach within schools.
Originally from Florida, Wendy studied Art History at Trinity University in San Antonio, followed by the American University in Vienna, Austria, and later pursued graduate studies at Tulane University in New Orleans. After managing Rodrigue’s galleries for 28 years—including locations in New Orleans, Carmel, California, and Munich, Germany—Wendy devoted herself full-time to nonprofit work centered on arts education and the preservation of George Rodrigue’s personal and artistic legacy. Through her Life & Legacy Foundation, she embarks on bi-annual, coast-to-coast tours and has personally delivered some 800 presentations in schools, universities, museums, and other venues. She shares original Rodrigue paintings from her private collection, combining intimate installations with the art of storytelling.
Since 2017, Wendy and her team have produced 22 Rodrigue museum exhibitions across eight states.“In 2017, I established the Life & Legacy Foundation because I believe, as George Rodrigue did, in the importance of active, in-person engagement through storytelling and the arts. This interaction nurtures creative thinking, promotes honest dialogue, encourages respect for diverse opinions, and establishes imagination as the key to it all.”
For this Women’s Leadership Luncheon, Wendy will present “Footnote: Wife to a Blue Dog Man,” a theme drawn from her deeply personal journey of resilience and self-definition. As the longtime partner of a celebrated artist, she once questioned whether she existed merely as a footnote in someone else’s story. Today, she speaks candidly about claiming her own relevance, impact, and voice. Through intimate storytelling and original artworks from her private collection, Wendy invites women to reflect on identity, legacy, and the courage required to stand fully in their own light.
Today, when not on the road for Life & Legacy, Wendy lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico, with her current husband, Douglas Magnus, also an artist and a longtime friend to George Rodrigue.