VERMILION PARISH — In the heart of Abbeville, a quiet gallery stands in the Tourist center as both a tribute and a testament to one man’s lifelong journey through art, identity, and belonging. The name on the entrance of the gallery—Tony Mayard—belongs to a local artist whose journey is shaped by family, service, and personal growth
“Well, I’m proud,” he said when asked what it feels like to have the gallery named after him. “The fact that this has become like my home.”
For Mayard, that sense of home began with a childhood fascination with nature and an early love for drawing. “I started thinking God made some really wonderful creatures, and so then I started drawing. I wanted to draw the birds that I was seeing up in the trees,” he recalled. While his father hoped he would one day work the land as a crawfish farmer, Mayard had different aspirations—ones quietly encouraged by his grandmother. “She said, ‘I’ll just tell your father you’re going to help me in the garden,’ and then she took me to art classes.”
Eventually, his father discovered the truth—but his reaction surprised Mayard. “He appreciated that I could do art. He said, ‘Tony, from now on, your grandma will not be paying for your art lessons. I will.’” That moment marked a turning point, one of many along a journey that would take Mayard far from Abbeville but ultimately bring him back.
His service in the Vietnam War marked one of the most personal chapters in his life. Drafted into the Army, Mayard found himself not only facing the trials of war but also navigating his identity. “My relationship with my father was a little difficult because I am a gay man,” Mayard explained. “One of the things that happened when I was in the army, he asked, ‘Well, do you have any girlfriends?’ I said, ‘There are girls that are friends of mine.’ He said, ‘In that same vein… would you have any boyfriends?’ I said, ‘Well yes, I do have boyfriends.’ And he said, ‘Okay, I understand… It’s okay. I love you. You're always my son.’ And he hugged me. It was the first time in many years he hugged me.”
That embrace, both literal and emotional, was what Mayard describes as a powerful affirmation. With his father’s acceptance, Mayard says his creativity began to flow even more freely. “So art has always been a part of my life, but not really the main thing. Although once I started working at this museum, it became my focus—that and meeting people.”
Though now retired, Mayard remains a constant presence at the center. “I retired from here about ten years ago, but I keep coming back,” he shared. His roots in Abbeville run deep. “It’s like home to me. I grew up in Abbeville and went to school here.”
Today, his story lives on not just in canvases and gallery walls, but in the quiet inspiration he offers to anyone who walks through the doors of the tourist center. While he no longer clocks in each morning, Mayard says one thing is certain—art will always be part of his life.
