/ 2025 / Portraiture / Personality

• Prize
  Honorable Mention
• Photographer
  Bob Miller, United States
• Studio
  Commissioned by 1504

NEW ORLEANS, LA – FEBRUARY 22, 2024: Art collector, chef and beloved maître d' JoAnn Clevenger recounts the stories behind several artworks adorning Upperline restaurant. In 1983, Clevenger opened Upperline in a yellow townhouse near the St. Charles line, and for nearly three decades many originals from her more than 1,000 piece art collection adorned the walls there, inside and out. Following the COVID-19 pandemic, Clevenger decided to close Upperline. So the four-time James Beard finalist is reimagining a future for herself, and her art. “Lately, I’ve been dreaming again,” she said.