DEAN COE

The Estate of Howell Dean Coe III New Orleans, Louisiana

Illumination artist, design consultant and beloved New Orleans retailer, Dean Coe, was passionate about the role of light as an instrument of design.

After training as a theatrical lighting designer, Coe pursued a career in the theater, but after spending a year lighting sets and actors’ faces in New York City, he deemed that lifestyle was not for him.

Coe eventually settled in New Orleans, where he served as a maitre d’ until saving enough money to open up the shop of his dreams – a hightech lighting design gallery that would become a beloved staple of New Orleans’s Warehouse District.

Leitmotif Designs opened in 1982 on Julia Street, providing a well curated modern selection of furniture and lights, each item meticulously selected and predicated by Coe’s personal taste and penchant for practicality, are ultra-modern. They simply offer the best light.” ”

More than a retailer, Coe served as a design consultant for his clients, assisting them in selecting the best lighting scheme to bring their room or house to life. With his theatrical training, Coe was particularly keen on utilizing light to create dramatic juxtapositions in line and style.

Coe’s use of the opposing qualities of light and dark to create design also informed his personal choice of art. With a contrasting love for the modern and the antique, Coe was drawn to local Louisiana Primitive folk pieces. Over time, he amassed a significant collection, filling his home with contemporary and antique sculpture, painting and furniture.

NOAG is honored to present items from the Estate of Howell Dean Coe III, including lighting by Gae Aulenti, Ettore Sottsass, Stilnovo and more.