about frank

Frank Relle is a photographer born and based in New Orleans, Louisiana. He graduated from Tulane University with degrees in Cognitive Science and Philosophy.  Since 2005, his work has been included in several museum collections and in over one thousand private collections around the world.

Relle’s photographs have been featured on the covers of books, magazines, and television features. He has been honored with numerous international awards.  Frank was the curator of the United States Embassy sponsored New Orleans to Moscow Cultural Exchange Exhibition at the Multimedia Museum in Moscow.

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Museum collections

National Museum of American History-Smithsonian Institution
Washington, D.C.

Ogden Museum of Art
New Orleans, LA

Museum of Fine Arts
Houston, TX

New Orleans Museum of Art
New Orleans, LA

Louisiana State Museum
New Orleans, LA

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910 Royal Street gallery

In 2016, the Frank Relle Gallery opened on Royal Street. There, Frank is able to share his vision of the beauty, culture, and history of New Orleans and Southern Louisiana.   Frank’s photographs hang in the double parlor of the historic Miltenberger House, once the home of the Princess of Monaco.  

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private & celebrity collections

Since 2005, Frank’s limited edition photographs have been included in over one thousand private homes and office spaces around the world. Listed are a selection of celebrity collections.

Wynton Marsalis

Brad Pitt

Ellen DeGeneres

Drew Brees

Hoda Kotbe

Gerard Butler

Rob Reiner

Dream Hampton

Sheryl Crow

Featured publications

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Romancing the familiar

“For Frank Relle, a single image contains many moments. He uses fixed lighting and long exposures to create stillness, fixed shadows, and moving elements that denote the passage of time. Relle romances the familiar: Houses contemplate the lives lived in them. Trees step forward out of the forest. His landscapes are rooted in history. “

- Morgan Babst

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Awards

Michael P. Smith Award for Documentary Photography, 2019

Photo Lucida Critical Mass Top 50 Photographers in 2006 and 2011.

International Photography Award, 2007

Color Photo Juried Award by Jay Maisel, APA NY 2005

ArtFields Competition, 2020

exhibitions

press

covers

SELECTED
PUBLICATIONS

  • Nine Lives Cover Image, Random House Publishing, January 2009

  • The Southern Review “Frank Relle’s New Orleans Nightscapes”  Front Cover, Autumn 2008  

  • Art Voices “Top 10 New Orleans Artists” Frank Relle, June 2008

  • Louisiana Homes & Gardens “New Orleans Nightscapes” Photo Essay, February 2008

  • Constance - Delicate Burdens Issue Two, February 2008

  • New Orleans’ Favorite Shotguns Preservation Resource Center of New Orleans, November 2007

  • Katrina Exposed - A Photographic Reckoning New Orleans Museum of Art PressNew Orleans Nightscapes, September 2006

  • Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities - Louisiana Cultural Vistas “Frank Relle’s New Orleans Nightscapes” Photo Essay and Front Cover, Summer 2006

  • New Orleans Life in an Epic City Preservation Resource Center of New Orleans, 2006

  • Louisiana 24/7 DK Publishing, October 2004

 

SELECTED
BIBLIOGRAPHY

  • InsideOut “House Proud” June 2007 Peck, Renee

  • New Orleans Homes and Lifestyles “New Orleans is a Nighttime City” February 2007 McCulley

  • Gambit Weekly “Moments in Time” February 2007 Power Graves, Kandace

  • Pioneer Local “Library exhibition” February 2007 Isaacs, Mike  

  • Art Business News “Market for Architectural Art On the Rise” September 2006 Pandolfi, Keith

  • The Street.com “Capturing New Orleans” August 29, 2006 Dane, Ann

  • InRegister “In the Spotlight” August 2006 Bordelon, Pam and Murray, Angey

  • Rocky Mountain News "New Orleans Nights in Jail" July 2006

  • KCCI-TV Channel 8 Des Moines, IA June 2006

  • WOI-TV Channel 5 Des Moines, IA June 2006 Krenz, Amanda

  • WHO-TV (NBC) Channel 13 Des Moines, IA June 2006

  • The Ann Arbor News “A Place You Should Respect” (Front page) July 22, 2006 Whitesall, Amy

  • Ann Arbor Observer “Requiem for a City” July 19-22, 2006 Page, Peggy

  • KDVR (FOX) Channel 31 Denver, CO July 2006

  • The Times-Picayune “Out of Darkness” May 2006 MacCash, Doug

  • Wraparound “The Year in Vision - It’s All Personal” Fall 2004