Storyville Portrait after E. J. Bellocq (American, 1873-1949)

Gouache on paper, second half of the 20th century, indistinct signature at lower right, presented in a giltwood frame under glass.

Sight size 23 1/4 x 17 1/4 in.; Frame dimensions 38 1/2 x 32 in.

From a Private Collection, Frankfort, Kentucky

This sketch is clearly inspired by the famous photograph by E. J. Bellocq of a young woman in Storyville, the legalized red-light district of New Orleans. Although Bellocq is believed to have taken his photos around 1912, they were not shared with a larger audience until the early 1970s when they were exhibited as a collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Crinkling and toning to the sheet, not examined outside the frame.