When it came to photography, Arthur Paul Bedou was “a household name.”
According to the Creole Genealogical and Historical Association (CreoleGen), New Orleanians considered Bedou’s photographs to be “treasured possessions.”
“Anyone too slow in taking a picture was often called a ‘Bedou,’” CreoleGen states. “He thought it nothing to have his subjects stand for nearly an hour waiting for a cloud to move or ensuring that every face could be seen.”
Bedou was born in New Orleans in 1882. He started taking pictures in 1899. His career took off after his photo of the May 28, 1900 eclipse gained recognition. By 1903, he had become Booker T. Washington’s personal photographer.
“He accompanied Washington on his summer tours with the object of producing an album of each trip,” Art Blart states. “Most of Bedou’s photographs of Washington were taken between 1908 and 1915, the year of Washington’s death.”
Bedou photographed such public figures as Theodore Roosevelt and George Washington Carver. He captured campus life at Xavier University of Louisiana and other Black colleges. He also was the official photographer for professional organizations, such as the National Negro Business League.
During the 1920s, Bedou photographed Black families and baby portraits at his New Orleans studio. His images of jazz bands and speaking events were published in the Louisiana Weekly and the Times-Picayune.
“Bedou won several prizes for his photographs of people, old plantation homes and landscapes,” CreoleGen states. “His services were sought by the high society of the city – both white and colored.”
In addition to taking pictures, “Bedou was a very frugal man who saved tremendously and invested wisely,” CreoleGen states. He also served
as a director and vice president of People’s Industrial Life Insurance Company of Louisiana.
After Bedou’s death in 1966, a Xavier scholarship was established in his name.
For more tales from New Orleans history, visit the Back in the Day archives.
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