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
Robert Michael Mapplethorpe (; November 4, 1946 – March 9, 1989) was an American photographer, best known for his black-and-white photographs. His work featured an array of subjects, including celebrity portraits, male and female nudes, self-p ...
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
, Louisiana. He was raised in nearby Bayou St. John.
He graduated with a fine arts degree from
LSU
Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 near ...
in 1952, after which he began architectural studies at
Tulane University
Tulane University, officially the Tulane University of Louisiana, is a private university, private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by seven young medical doctors, it turned into ...
. 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
The French Quarter, also known as the , is the oldest neighborhood in the city of New Orleans. After New Orleans (french: La Nouvelle-Orléans) was founded in 1718 by Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville, the city developed around the ("Old Squ ...
, where he was well known for his eccentricity and hospitality. His friend and student,
Robert Mapplethorpe
Robert Michael Mapplethorpe (; November 4, 1946 – March 9, 1989) was an American photographer, best known for his black-and-white photographs. His work featured an array of subjects, including celebrity portraits, male and female nudes, self-p ...
restaged many of his earlier black and white photographs. Dureau died of
Alzheimer's disease
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegeneration, neurodegenerative disease that usually starts slowly and progressively worsens. It is the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in short-term me ...
.
[
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Works
Some of his pieces are held at the Ogden Museum of Southern Art
The Ogden Museum of Southern Art is located in the Warehouse Arts District of downtown New Orleans, Louisiana.
Established in 1999, and in Stephen Goldring Hall at 925 Camp Street since 2003.
The building
The Ogden consists of two main buildin ...
. Several of his works are displayed publicly throughout New Orleans, most notably, the pediment sculpture for Harrah's New Orleans
Harrah's New Orleans is a casino in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States, near the foot of Canal Street a block away from the Mississippi River. It is a casino with approximately 2,100 slot machines, over 90 table games and a poker room. The ...
, and his cast-bronze sculptures stand sentinel at the entrance gates of New Orleans City Park
City Park, a public park in New Orleans, Louisiana, is the 87th largest and 20th-most-visited urban public park in the United States. City Park is approximately 50% larger than Central Park in New York City, the municipal park recognized by Amer ...
. His depiction of a Mardi Gras parade dominates one wall in Gallier Hall
Gallier Hall is a historic building on St. Charles Avenue in New Orleans, Louisiana. It is the former New Orleans city hall, and continues in civic use. Built 1845–1853, it is a nationally significant example of Greek Revival architecture, a ...
. "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.George Dureau: 'Black 1973–1986'
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Selected publications
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References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dureau, George
1930 births
2014 deaths
Artists from New Orleans
Gay artists
Louisiana State University alumni
Tulane University alumni