George Dureau Authentic Signed Vintage B&W Photograph 1977
George Dureau (1930-2014), American. Authentic silver gelatin (darkroom printed) vintage photograph.
GEORGE DUREAU, Untitled. 1977. Print measures 11 x 12.5 inches, Image 9 x 9 inches. Excellent Condition. Signed in black ink pen in lower right on white border. Acquired directly by the trustee of the Dureau estate, his brother Don Dureau, whom I am now friends with. See photos of Don in his home, holding the framed photograph. Other framed photographs, featured on the walls are not for sale and remain the private collection of Don Dureau.
Photograph is currently taped at top verso of print (see photos of the back of the photograph), as was the common framing and matting method in the 70’s & 80’s. For shipping purposes, I suggest and would prefer to remove the mat, and keep exisiting tape on the print (cutting the tape at the seam), as to not damage it in any way.
This is an artist proof / not part of any edition. A highly collectible print.
USD$2800
International Shipping Available.
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George Dureau
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| Born | December 28, 1930 New Orleans, Louisiana, United States
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| Died | April 7, 2014 (aged 83) Kenner, Louisiana, U.S.
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| Education | LSU and Tulane University |
| Known for | Painter, Photographer |
George Valentine Dureau (December 28, 1930 – April 7, 2014) was an American artist whose long career was most notable for charcoal sketches and black and white photography of poor white and black athletes, dwarfs, and amputees. Robert Mapplethorpe is said to have been inspired by Dureau’s amputee and dwarf photographs, which showed the figures as “exposed and vulnerable, playful and needy, complex and entirely human individuals.”
Biography
Dureau was born to Clara Rosella Legett Dureau and George Valentine Dureau in the Lakeview neighborhood of New Orleans, Louisiana. He was raised in nearby Bayou St. John. He graduated with a fine arts degree from LSU in 1952, after which he began architectural studies at Tulane University. He briefly served in the U.S. Army. Before being able to survive as an artist, he worked for Kreeger’s, a New Orleans department store, as a display designer/window dresser. For the vast majority of his life, he lived in the French Quarter, where he was well known for his eccentricity and hospitality. His friend and student, Robert Mapplethorpe restaged many of his earlier black and white photographs. Dureau died of Alzheimer’s disease.
Works
Some of his pieces are held at the Ogden Museum of Southern Art. Several of his works are displayed publicly throughout New Orleans, most notably, the pediment sculpture for Harrah’s New Orleans, and his cast-bronze sculptures stand sentinel at the entrance gates of New Orleans City Park. His depiction of a Mardi Gras parade dominates one wall in Gallier Hall. “Black 1973–1986,” an exhibition of black and white photographs concentrating on young black men at the Higher Pictures gallery in New York City, garnered rave reviews.
Selected publications
- Lucie-Smith, Edward (1985). George Dureau New Orleans: 50 Photographs. London: GMP Publishers Ltd. ISBN0-907040-47-0.
- Gefter, Philip (2016). George Dureau, The Photographs. New York: Aperture. ISBN978-1-59711-284-0.
References
- ^ “Dureau, George (1930–2014)”. glbtq. December 28, 1930. Archived from the original on March 30, 2014. Retrieved April 8, 2014.
- ^ Harrity, Christopher (December 28, 1930). “Artist Spotlight George Dureau”. Advocate.com. Retrieved April 8, 2014.
- ^ Jump up to: ab MacCash, Doug (April 7, 2014). “George Dureau, New Orleans master painter and photographer, has died”. The Times-Picayune. NOLA.com. Retrieved April 8, 2014.
- ^ Gruber, Richard J. “George Dureau,” 64 Parishes.com
- ^ George Dureau: ‘Black 1973–1986’
PRESS:
https://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/22/arts/design/george-dureau-black-1973-1986.html
https://www.prospect5.org/artists/george-dureau
GEORGE DUREAU OBITUARY
George Valentine Dureau, Jr., renowned New Orleans painter, photographer, and sculptor, died at age 83 on Monday, April 7, 2014 at Waldon Health Care Center in Kenner, LA. George was born December 28, 1930, in New Orleans, and lived most of his life here. New Orleans was his spiritual as well as his physical home, and he embodied the carefree and bohemian aspects of his birthplace. He was well loved by all who knew him, and he was known by many. In addition to his amazing artistic talents, he was also a bon vivant and a raconteur par excellence, making him a welcome guest at New Orleans parties and other gatherings of people from high society as well as from the hoi polloi. He was nothing if not an egalitarian, comfortable with people from all walks of life. George grew up on Bayou St. John, but the French Quarter was his natural habitat, where he had several beautiful apartments with studio and gallery space over many decades. Practically everyone in the Quarter knew George and was used to seeing him riding his bike up and down the narrow streets, with his long dark hair flying.
George’s artistic talent emerged early; he won his first art prize at about age 12. He studied art at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, and also took some classes at Tulane University School of Architecture. In addition to many exhibitions of his work at museums and galleries in New Orleans, he has also had shows in many other places, including New York, Washington DC, Atlanta, Los Angeles, Portland, London, and Paris. In October of 2011, the Ogden Museum of Southern Art presented George with its Opus Award, given each year to a member of the arts community whose life’s work constitutes a major contribution to the cultural landscape of the South. The Ogden also mounted a very well-received retrospective exhibit of his work that same year. Many of George’s paintings feature classical and mythological themes, and he often depicted himself, his beloved mother, Clara, and many of his friends in them. His photographs were initially done as studies for his painting, but were recognized as beautiful and haunting portraits in their own right. His subjects were usually his friends or became his friends, and his portraits of them made the viewer look at the human body and its variations in a new way and see beauty and dignity that might not usually be associated with the images he chose.
George was born to Clara Legett Dureau and George Valentine Dureau, Sr., both deceased. He is survived by a half-brother, Donald Dureau, of Dallas, TX, and a step-brother, Theodore Jay Gordon, of Old Lyme, CT, an aunt, Marion Legett, of New Orleans, and eight first cousins: Dr. Benjamin J. Legett, Jr. (June); Mary Lynn Bonck; Carol Legett Fouquette; Laurie Legett Bazin; Judy Legett Martin (Bob); Patricia Legett Plache (Robert); Gaynell Legett; and Linda Legett Abele (Rod). George was beloved by his family and many friends, not the least of whom is Katie Nachod. She knew George for only seven years, but she devotedly oversaw his care during the last few years of his life. George’s family and friends are eternally grateful to her and to all the members of the Friends of George group who provided encouragement and support to her in this labor of love. Thanks also go to the caregivers at Carrington Place in Algiers and at Waldon Health Care Center in Kenner who helped make George’s last months as comfortable as possible.
There will be a public memorial service to celebrate George’s life and art on Good Friday, April 18, at the Ogden Museum of Southern Art from 1:00-3:00 p.m. In lieu of flowers, George’s family would prefer donations in George’s memory to the Ogden Museum of Southern Art, 925 Camp St. New Orleans, LA 70130 or to the New Orleans Museum of Art, One Collins Diboll Circle, City Park, New Orleans, LA 70124. David Cuthbert, a longtime friend of George’s and a longtime writer for the Times-Picayune, recently described George as a “larger than life artist, a man who is a bountiful and generous human being, ready to share himself and his talent with great joie de vivre.” George will live on for a long time in the hearts of the many people who loved him, and he will live on forever in his art.
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