Two books of E. J. Bellocq prostitutes
E. J. Bellocq
...is known for his portraits of New Orleans prostitutes in the Storyville district of the 1910s. Bellocq was a professional photographer, specializing in maritime subjects, but these prostitute photos, on which his fame now rests, were in his private collection, unreleased at the time of his death.John Ernest Joseph Bellocq was born in New Orleans in 1873. His commercial photography involved things like landmarks and ships for business clients. Little of his work as a commercial photographer has survived. For his own interest, he took the prostitute photos, and he may also have documented the opium dens of Chinatown. If so, those photos are now lost.
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| A shot typical of Bellocq's commercial work |
Little is really known about Bellocq's life. He was not famous during his life. He only became famous after photographer Lee Friedlander found 89 glass negatives in an antique book shop in 1966.
The first book from 1970, "E. J. Bellocq Storyville Portraits
" was compiled by Lee Friedlander and John Szarkowski, the long-time Director of Photography at New York's Museum of Modern Art, in conjunction with an exhibit there.The second is "Bellocq: Photographs from Storyville, the Red-Light District of New Orleans
," which is an expanded compilation put out in 1996 by John Szarkowski.
The photographs are compelling portraits of women, as well as a view into a certain time and a certain place. Some are fully nude, some fully dressed, others posed in costumes and masks as if in a play. Many of the negatives had the faces deliberately scratched out. It is unknown when, why or by whom this was done. Some speculate that it was by Bellocq's brother, a Jesuit priest, who inherited them after Bellocq's death. But more recent inspection has revealed that the damage was done while the emulsion was wet, suggesting that E. J. Bellocq himself did it to protect the women's identities. Somehow, the damage only makes the images more compelling.If you visit New Orleans, and you should, the A Gallery has Bellocq prints for sale: 214 Chartres Street (2 blocks from Canal in the French Quarter)
E. J. Bellocq was buried in Saint Louis Cemetery #3 in New Orleans, which is also worth a visit. (Look for Ernest Bellocq.)
Sources
- International Center of Photography Archives
- E. J. Bellocq at Wikipedia
- E. J. Bellocq at 64 Parishes website
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