NEW ORLEANS – In a ceremony on Wednesday, Nov. 5, the Honorable Rodolphe Sambou, Consul General of France in Louisiana, presented Susan M. Taylor, The Montine McDaniel Freeman Director of the New Orleans Museum of Art (NOMA), with the Legion of Honor at the rank of Chevalier.
The National Order of the Legion of Honor is the highest decoration in France awarded for military and civil merits.
“Since its creation in 1802 by Napoleon Bonaparte, the Legion of Honour has recognized men and women, in France and beyond, whose talent, commitment, or exemplary actions have contributed to the influence of French values and to friendship among nations,” said Sambou. “It symbolizes the gratitude of the French Republic for a life marked by excellence, dedication, and a profound attachment to the universal ideals it upholds.”
This designation from the Republic of France celebrates commitment to strengthening bonds with France.
Under Taylor’s leadership, NOMA organized The Orléans Collection in 2018, timed with New Orleans’s official tricentennial celebrations. The exhibition brought together for the first time in centuries forty European masterpieces from the collection of the city’s namesake, Philippe II, Duc d’Orléans.
In 2025, NOMA opened Nicolas Floc’h: Fleuves-Océan, Mississippi Watershed, the first museum exhibition dedicated to work created during a residency through Villa Albertine, a division of the French Embassy in the United States. In 2024, Taylor served as a member of the artist selection jury for Villa Albertine’s residency programs.
To produce the 2013 NOMA installation Cities of Ys, artist Camille Henrot was supported by an Étant donnés grant, sponsored by the Cultural Services of the French Embassy. That grant also supported a trip for Taylor to visit artists’ studios in Paris.
Additionally, Taylor welcomed French President Emmanuel Macron to NOMA during his official visit to New Orleans in December 2022. At the museum, President Macron gave a speech affirming the importance of the French language heritage across South Louisiana.
In 2023, the French Ministry of Culture promoted Taylor to the rank of Officier within the Order of Arts and Letters. This distinction recognizes contributions to arts and culture in France and around the world.
“There are longstanding cultural connections between New Orleans and France,” said Taylor. “At NOMA, we are committed to celebrating the global from the unique vantage point of our city. It is an honor for the Consulate General of France in Louisiana to support our shared initiatives.”
Since Taylor’s appointment as NOMA’s director in 2010, she has developed ambitious exhibitions, acquisitions, and programmatic initiatives and placed a renewed emphasis on education strategies for families and children as young as pre-K. As a result, Taylor has positioned the museum as a nexus for cultural activity in New Orleans—and at the center of a national conversation about the responsibility of cultural organizations to build community.
At NOMA, she has led major capital projects to expand the museum’s capacity, reach, and accessibility. In 2019, the museum opened an expansion of its Sydney and Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden, doubling its size. Projects including NOMA’s Lapis Center for the Arts and the renovation of the adjacent Coleman Courtyard have increased the museum’s ability to host a range of programs and events.
Taylor is a past president of the Association of Art Museum Directors. She serves on the board of trustees and exhibition committee for the American Federation of Arts. Taylor has previously served on numerous other boards, including the Corning Museum of Glass, the Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center at Vassar College, the International Journal of Cultural Property, the New Orleans Convention and Visitors Bureau, and Metairie Park Country Day School.
Prior to her time in New Orleans, Taylor led the Davis Museum and Cultural Center at Wellesley College and the Princeton University Art Museum.