A GALLERY FOR FINE PHOTOGRAPHY
322 Royal Street
New Orleans, LA  70117
Telephone 504-568-1313
Fax 504-568-1322
www.agallery.com

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Fonville Winans  (1911-1992)

Fonville Winans, known simply as "Fonville," spent most of his life photographing the city of Baton Rouge and the Louisiana environs. 

Fonville was born in Mexico, Missouri in 1911 and grew up in Fort Worth, Texas.
At the age of 20, he moved to Louisiana where he worked as a carpenter and as a boatman on his own small boat.  In 1933, inspired by the photographic exploits of
Frank Buck who captured and documented the jungle dwelling animals around the world, Fonville composed two of his own documentary films in the bayous surrounding Grand Isle and Morgan City .  He toured Dallas and Fort Worth showing his films then he returned to Grand Isle to begin his career as a photographer.  

After two years on Grand Isle, Fonville enrolled at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge.  He supported himself by photographing social events which allowed him to document many of the infamous politicians of the era including Huey Long, Earl Long and Governor Richard Leche.

During the Depression, Fonville captured the spirit of those people who remained hopeful and contented despite their hardships.  Not all of his images are idyllic; he also photographed the grim conditions at the State Penitentiary in Angola.

In 1941, he opened a studio in Baton Rouge with his son.  They worked together until his death in 1992.   His works survive him as an invaluable historical account of Louisiana.