NEW ORLEANS — Sydney Besthoff, the man who was the third generation leader of the iconic K&B Drug Stores, who also gifted the city with several locations where the arts could be enjoyed, has died at the age of 94, the New Orleans Museum of Art announced Sunday.
Besthoff was part of the family that ran what became a seven-state drug store franchise with a distinctive purple color theme and popular local commercials. The store was full of popular store brands and soda fountains. K&B was sold to Rite Aid in 1997.
Besthoff is also known in local art circles as the visionary behind the Contemporary Arts Center. He and his wife Walda Besthoff created the sculpture garden at the New Orleans Museum of Art that bears their names.
"Sydney’s vision, passion, and dedication to the arts are unparalleled. With Walda, Sydney’s goal was to create a new way for NOMA to expand and broaden its audience, while creating ways for New Orleanians to experience art in a relaxed and informal setting. It is a demonstration of this desire to share their passion that they wanted the Garden to be free and open to the people of the city of New Orleans," said Susan Taylor of the New Orleans Museum of Art.
According to Taylor, Besthoff was the first ever recipient of the City of New Orleans Arts Award in 1980, and was recognized with a Louisiana Humanities Lifetime Achievement Award in 1997. In 2004, Sydney won NOMA’s Isaac Delgado Award, given to a distinguished individual or organization whose long-term service, support, and dedication to the museum set precedents for the institution. Also, in 2004, Sydney was recognized by the International Sculpture Center, and in 2018, as part of The Times-Picayune/nola.com’s “300 for 300” series in celebration of New Orleans’ tricentennial. Sydney was celebrated as one of the 300 people who have “made New Orleans, New Orleans.”
