Meanwhile, Bullard plans a fund-raising campaign, making stops in such cities as Los Angeles, Chicago and Palm Beach, Fla., to encourage more people to open their checkbooks.

Already, there are signs of good will. French officials recently announced they'll loan some 50 paintings from their institutions, including the Louvre, to be displayed in a special exhibition late next year or in early 2007 at the New Orleans Museum of Art.

The museum will also bring some works to a New York gallery next year to raise money and pay tribute to the security force that guarded the building.

Meanwhile, George Roland, who was a donor, volunteer and eventually an assistant at the museum, wonders about the future — the museum's, the city's and his own.

"I don't think anything in the city is going to come back the way it is," he says. "I think New Orleans is gone, at least the New Orleans that everyone thinks about."

But he says the camaraderie with his co-workers and the museum are reasons enough for him to return.

"It's not New Orleans as a city that will bring me back," he says. "It's the museum."

Keefe, his former colleague, says even though people are worried about housing and other essential needs now, he's certain the museum will survive because it's part of the fabric and the future of New Orleans.

"Art is not a luxury," he says. "It's something that enhances life. And this city is all about the enhancement of life."