GEORGE DUREAU

George Dureau (b. 1930, New Orleans – d. 2014, New Orleans) was a painter and photographer whose intuitive style redefined classical ideals of beauty through a deeply human lens. Working through his cavernous apartment in the French Quarter–a richly layered neighborhood pulsing with queer people, street performers, artists, and everyday eccentrics–Dureau drew from the vibrancy of his environment and infused it into his art. After 50 years of painting and drawing, Dureau turned to a humble Brownie camera, through which he documented a wide range of individuals in his signature square format, including amputees, bodybuilders, strangers, and lovers—the people he admired and found endlessly fascinating.

Dureau’s distinct affinity for capturing these unconventional beauties stemmed from a childhood visit to a freak show, in a traveling circus with his aunt. Upon the flying trapeze, and all of the characters, he was captivated by what he called the “triumphant but handicapped” — people whose bodies or lives diverged from the norm, yet who carried themselves with strength, defiance, and dignity. This early fascination found full expression in Dureau’s work. As an openly gay man living in the American South, he gravitated toward subjects who, like him, existed outside the mainstream.

A classically trained painter, Dureau brings to photography a refined compositional instinct informed by Renaissance art and Greco-Roman sculpture. His subjects are often nude, their bodies deliberately arranged in ways that recall antique friezes, cast in a contoured and soft chiaroscuro light. While his influences are canonical, his subjects challenge those very canons, and leave a sense of individuality and toughness on those who encounter them. His only instruction is simple, “Keep looking at the camera”. Through his way of working, Dureau builds a world where vulnerability and strength coexist, where bodies are rendered monumental. His legacy is not only aesthetically potent but also ethically empowering, reflective of the vibrant New Orleans from which he himself blossomed.

His work has been included in solo and group exhibitions: Mapplethorpe and Dureau, Arthur Roger Gallery, New Orleans, LA (2018); Paul and Lulu Hilliard, University Art Museum, Lafayette, LA (2016), Arcadiana Center for the Arts, Lafayette, LA (2016); Museum Kunst Palast, Düsseldorf, Germany (2008); Classical Art Museum, Verona, Italy (2002); Contemporary Arts Center, New Orleans, LA (1999); Houston Museum School, Houston, TX & New Orleans Museum of Art, New Orleans, LA (1998); La Maison Européenne de la Photographie, Paris, France (1997); Aperture Foundation, New York, NY (1989); Birmingham Museum of Art, Birmingham, AL (1988); The Museum, Lubbock, TX & Anniston Museum of Natural History, Anniston, AL (1986); New Orleans Triennial The Centennial Exhibition, New Orleans Museum of Art, New Orleans, LA (1986); Artist Space, New York, NY (1986); Louisiana World Exposition, New Orleans, LA (1984); among others.