Clarence John Laughlin

From site, http://www.stephendaitergallery.com

Clarence John Laughlin (American, 1905-1985) was born in Lake Charles, Louisiana but moved to New Orleans at an early age. Self taught in photography as well as a wide range of other subjects, he began his career as a freelancer, producing mostly architectural photos, and eventually moved on to work for such varied agencies as Vogue Magazine and the US Army Corps of Engineers. His work was influenced by Eugene Atget and other historical purists who tried to capture a decaying urban landscape – for Laughlin, his home city of New Orleans was the staging ground for many of his pictures and he spent most of his life photographing the area. Arguably the first surrealist photographer in the United States, he often constructed elaborate stages and employed models, costumes, and props to create haunting abstractions. His best known book, "Ghosts Along the Mississippi," was first published in 1948.

Photos above are:
The Enigma (1941)
The Mirror of Long Ago (1946)
The Torso in "G" Place (1945)
Laughlin chronicled, in his imaginative way, the fading of one era into another: the Victorian, ante-bellum age being overtaken by the modern age. Memorializing the sadness, nostalgia, and hauntedness of the earlier age trying to hang on in a decaying fashion.