George Dureau was born and raised in New Orleans. He kept a home and studio in the French Quarter. This bon vivant was a fixture in the Quarter and was frequently seen riding his bike around the quarter with his raven hair flowing behind him saying hello to his friends. Dureau passed away in 2014, leaving the legacy of a remarkable 40-year career. Touches of his creativity are written in the streets of New Orleans. His creativity can be seen gracing the New Orleans Museum of Art’s Gates at North Court, The Parade Paused a Mardi Gras-themed mural in Gallier Hall, the pediment sculptures at Harrah’s Casino, and a seductive portrait of Professor Longhair for the 1999 New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival poster.
Dureau was a fixture in the New Orleans art scene and is recognized nationally for his contributions to photography, sculpture, drawing, and painting. Today he is best known for his photography, frequently featuring male nudes. Dureau’s models are often exquisitely proportioned, muscular men (and occasionally women), who exemplify our ideals of beauty and grace, but just as often his subjects are male nude, the working class, little people, and disabled people. All of his photos are arresting and possess a sense of serene calm that comes from complete trust between model and artist.
Dureau’s life and career was the subject of a documentary film by Sergio Andres Lobo-Navia & Jarret Lofstead, which screened at the 2023 New Orleans Film Festival, as well as the Miami International Film Festival.