"The camera is an extension of my knowledge of the inner workings of the community that I have come to understand over a twenty-five year period. It's my art, my subjective view of the world I'm experiencing." ~ Michael P. Smith, 1993

The Historic New Orleans Collection mourns the recent passing of photographer Michael P. Smith (1937–2008) on Friday, September 25, 2008. His photographs of New Orleans musicians, their neighborhoods, and the institutional structures that nurture the city’s rich and varied cultural identity have defined New Orleans to worldwide audiences since the late 1960s. Michael Smith’s archive is part of the holdings of The Historic New Orleans Collection and will be the subject of an exhibition in the spring of 2009.

In the spring of 2007, the Michael P. Smith collection of negatives, prints, papers and ephemera was acquired by The Historic New Orleans Collection, along with the copyright to his work. The Michael P. Smith Collection is housed at the Williams Research Center and is available to the public on a limited basis.