The House

On travel documents, Nita & Zita gave several different addresses in the French Quarter as their home base.

In 1947, they stopped traveling, bought a creole cottage in the Marigny, and lived there the rest of their lives as recluses.

But they were not finished turning their lives into art.

In addition to paper mache heads and feathered headdresses, Nita & Zita spent these decades sewing thousands of costumes, dresses, shoes, hats, and dolls. They also painted every surface of their home with polka dots, flowers, splotches, and patterns, in bright vibrant colors. Even the inside and outside of the bathtub, sinks, refrigerator, and stove were covered in bright patterns.
They repaired their home themselves with tin can lids carefully nailed over holes in the roof and floors, and fabric slings to fix lamps and holes in the wall.

They handmade everything, insisted on beauty, and created a one-of-a-kind sanctuary for themselves at 2608-2610 Dauphine Street.