Ernest J. Bellocq
John Ernest Joseph Bellocq was born in New Orleans during 1873 to a wealthy Creole family. He studied for ten years , gaining a classical education, then worked at a variety of jobs, never staying in one place for too long. He had a penchant for photography from a fairly young age, but it wouldn't be until 1902 that he would focus his energy on photography full-time. Bellocq lived out his life largely working as an industrial photographer, but was known to have taken class pictures for schools as well (4).
It wasn't until after his death in 1949 that we learn his camera saw more than shipyards and school children. Eighty-nine glass negatives depicting the Storyville prostitutes were found in Bellocq's apartment located just a few blocks from the district. His proximity to Storyville made it easy for him to frequent the palaces and cribs. His photographs are all carefully posed, with subjects that seem happy and poised with no indication of coercion, speaking of a rapport between artist and his subjects. Bellocq was believed to have been the unofficial photographer to Storyville. These negatives are unique in that they seem to be the only surviving photographic records of Storyville’s prostitutes which have come into public attention (3), (4).
It would take decades, but in 1970, prints of Bellocq's works would be displayed in the Museum of Modern Art in Manhattan, New York. His photos, once considered taboo, are now heralded as historical works of art (4).
It wasn't until after his death in 1949 that we learn his camera saw more than shipyards and school children. Eighty-nine glass negatives depicting the Storyville prostitutes were found in Bellocq's apartment located just a few blocks from the district. His proximity to Storyville made it easy for him to frequent the palaces and cribs. His photographs are all carefully posed, with subjects that seem happy and poised with no indication of coercion, speaking of a rapport between artist and his subjects. Bellocq was believed to have been the unofficial photographer to Storyville. These negatives are unique in that they seem to be the only surviving photographic records of Storyville’s prostitutes which have come into public attention (3), (4).
It would take decades, but in 1970, prints of Bellocq's works would be displayed in the Museum of Modern Art in Manhattan, New York. His photos, once considered taboo, are now heralded as historical works of art (4).