Storyville Portrait

Art Historical Context

E.J. Bellocq's *Storyville Portrait* (c. 1912, printed c. 1970) offers a poignant glimpse into the vibrant yet shadowy world of Storyville, New Orleans' red-light district that thrived from 1897 1917. As a reclusive photographer working in the early 20th century,ocq captured intimate portraits the district's residents—often sex workers—with a remarkable tenderness and humanity rarely seen in that era's photography. This gelatin silver print, measuring 25.1 x 20.2 cm, exemplifies his direct, unadorned style, emphasizing the subject's dignity amid a marginalized subculture. The medium of gelatin silver print, a hallmark of early 20th-century photography, allowed for rich tonal range and fine detail, preserving Bellocq's subtle manipulations like scratched-out backgrounds on glass negatives. Discovered posthumously in his sister's attic, these images were first printed in the 1960s and 1970s, bringing Bellocq's elusive oeuvre to light. Housed in the National Gallery of Art's photography department through the Patrons' Permanent Fund, the work holds cultural significance as a testament to overlooked lives, blending documentary realism with empathetic artistry. Today, *Storyville Portrait* invites visitors to reflect on the intersections of vice, vulnerability, and visual poetry in American history.

About the Artist

E.J. Bellocq · 1873–1949

Ernest Joseph Bellocq (1873–1949) was born into an aristocratic white Creole family in New Orleans on August 19, 1873. His father, Paul Bellocq, worked as a bookkeeper, while his mother, Marie, came from a wealthy French merchant family; his younger brother, Leo, became a Jesuit priest and Bellocq's sole heir. Raised near the French Opera House in comfortable circumstances, Bellocq received a clas...