The Nightcrawler King

It’s probably safe to say that no one has lived the life of a museum curator with quite the joie de vivre that William Fagaly has achieved in New Orleans, with his multiple overlapping achievements in African, self-taught, and contemporary art, and the rich panorama of friendships he’s enjoyed, which include some of the most fascinating artists, musicians, writers, chefs, collectors, patrons, art historians, and gallerists of our time. For more than fifty years, as chief curator at the New Orleans Museum of Art, he was witness to, and participant in, some truly remarkable chapters in the cultural life of the country’s most exotic and hard-to-know city. Guided by impeccable insider’s credentials, Fagaly’s unquenchable love of art and people shines through in this generous, affable memoir, wherein he achieves the seemingly impossible task of making a life that overflows with unforgettable art, music, and people seem as effortless as polishing off a bowl of gumbo. Dan Cameron, founding director of Prospect New Orleans

When Bill Fagaly came to New Orleans in the 1970s he did what so many long to do when they first arrive in that city but few achieve: he stayed there, he embraced it, and he added greatly to its unfathomable riches. New Orleans embraced Bill back and, out of that decades-long relationship, sprang a series of exhibitions and friendships and influences outward and inward. It is marvelous to have Bill’s account of his adventures, written exactly as they would have been spoken by Bill, sharing something delicious in his soulful French Quarter home. Jane Livingston, author and curator

Bill Fagaly writes in a lively manner, at times both serious and humorous. He excels in writing profiles of the specific personalities encountered in the art world: the scholarly, creative, philanthropic, social, and eccentric. This is a wonderful account of an insider’s view of the contemporary art world! E. John Bullard, director emeritus at the New Orleans Museum of Art

Bill Fagaly made major contributions to the city of New Orleans and its artistic history. The Nightcrawler King recounts his experiences and details the life of an individual involved with the art world during a time of change and exploration. Howard Philips Smith, author of Unveiling the Muse: The Lost History of Gay Carnival in New Orleans and A Sojourn in Paradise: Jack Robinson in 1950s New Orleans