The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 24, 2024

Storyville Portrait (Untitled)

Storyville Portrait (Untitled)

c. 1912, printed c. 1970
(American, 1873–1949)
(American, b. 1934)
America, 20th century
gelatin silver print
Gift of Sharon & Del Zogg in honor of Wendy Watriss and Frederick C. Baldwin (1929-2021), co-founders of Fotofest, Houston, Texas 2022.79
© Lee Friedlander
Location: not on view

Did You Know?

This is one of only 89 surviving images by New Orleans photographer E.J. Bellocq.

Description

All the surviving Bellocq photographs show prostitutes from the city’s legalized red-light district called Storyville. Depicted as individuals rather than types, the women have relaxed expressions and poses, suggesting acquaintance and trust between subject and photographer. It may have been this sense of emotional, versus physical, intimacy that caused the work, decades after the artist’s death, to inspire films, novels, and poems.
  • 1995
    (Halsted Gallery, Birmingham, MI)
    1995-2022
    Del Zogg, Concord, NC, given to The Cleveland Museum of Art
    June 6, 2022-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • {{cite web|title=Storyville Portrait (Untitled)|url=false|author=E.J. Bellocq, Lee Friedlander|year=c. 1912, printed c. 1970|access-date=24 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2022.79