Ernest Joseph Bellocq
1873 - 1949 New Orleans, USA
Bellocq was born into a wealthy family of French créole origins[2] in the French Quarter of New Orleans. He became known locally as an amateur photographer before setting himself up as a professional, making his living mostly by taking photographic records of landmarks and of ships and machinery for local companies.[3] However, he also took personal photographs of the hidden side of local life, notably the opium dens in Chinatown[4] and the prostitutes of Storyville.[5] These were only known to a small number of his acquaintances. He had been something of a dandy in his early days, while he lived alone in the latter part of his life and acquired a reputation for eccentricity and unfriendliness. According to acquaintances from that period, he showed little interest in anything other than photography.
ARTWORKS
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Ernest Joseph Bellocq
Storyville Portraits
MoMa, New York, USA, 1970
Lee Friedlander, John Szarkowski
pages 96
first edition
dimensions 28.3 × 24.3 cm, hardcover with jacket
language English
ISBN 978-0870702501