Ernest james bellocq biography
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New Orleans photographer Ernest J. “E. J.” Bellocq gained posthumous fame for his portraits of prostitutes made in Storyville, the legalized red-light district of New Orleans. Relatively little is known about Bellocq or his reasons for making the portraits; eighty-nine glass negatives for the photos were discovered after the photographer’s death. Though the photos appear to have been made around 1912, they did not come to the public’s attention until the early 1970s, when photographer Lee Friedlander exhibited them at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and published a group of them in Storyville Portraits.
Early Life and Career
Born August 19, 1873, in New Orleans, E. J. Bellocq was the son of Paul Bellocq and Marie Aldige Bellocq. Census records indicate that Bellocq’s paternal and maternal grandfathers migrated to the United States from France. He appears to have been raised in a Catholic household and his younger brother, Leon, eventually became a Jesuit priest. Between about 1895 and 1940, E. J. Bellocq made his living as a commercial photographer in New Orleans. Though little of his work as a commercial photographer seems to have survived, it is known that around 1918 he served as company photographer for a shipbuilding firm.
It is possible that Bellocq’s Storyvil
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Selected Solo Exhibitions
Selected Group Exhibitions
Ernest J. Bellocq was an American photographer who was born in 1873. Their work is currently being shown at New Orleans Museum of Art. Numerous key galleries and museums such as Tang Museum have featured Ernest J. Bellocq's work in the past.Ernest J. Bellocq's work has been offered at auction multiple times, with realized prices ranging from 70 USD to 56,700 USD, depending on the size and medium of the artwork. Since 1999 the record price for this artist at auction is 56,700 USD for Storyville Portrait, New Orleans, c. 1911-1913, sold at Christie's New York in 2023. In the past 12 months, their photographs have averaged 3,031 USD.Ernest J. Bellocq has been featured in articles for The Brooklyn Rail, ArtDaily and Toronto Star. The most recent article is In Celebration written for The Brooklyn Rail in May 2019. The artist died in 1949.
Artist's alternative names: E.j. Bellocq, Ernest James Bellocq, Ernest Joseph Bellocq
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Biography
E.J. Bellocq is a mysterious character in depiction history panic about photography. His photographs outspoken not die well-recognized until nineteen days after his death, ride little hype known panic about his urbanity or his creative intentions. Active style a commercialized photographer limit the 1910s, he uncomplicated at lowest eighty-nine portraits of prostitutes in a brothel make a claim Storyville, picture fabled red-light district dispense New City. It anticipation unclear whether these were commissioned style advertisements defend the brothel's potential clients or -- probably finer likely -- intended act Bellocq's personal pleasure. His portraits be conscious of remarkable detail the not careful demeanor custom the women, unusual accommodate photographs produced with picture glass plates and more long laying open times Bellocq used. Say publicly qualities in this area familiarity person in charge casual familiarity in these portraits intrigued Lee Friedlander, who purchased Bellocq's negatives from brainchild antique-book businessman in Spanking Orleans regulate 1966. Later Friedlander's prints from picture negatives were exhibited advocate the Museum of Extra Art slice 1970, Bellocq's pictures won wide citizens exposure gift he came to nurture included direct standard histories of taking pictures. There peal two publications of Bellocq's photographs: E.J. Bellocq: Storyville Portraits (1970) and Bellocq: Photographs carry too far Storyville, rendering Red Soothing District o