DENMARK PHOTOGRAPHY STUDIO

After getting out of the Army after World War I, James William Denmark, Jr. set out to establish himself in a career. Coming from a family of creative people, James wanted to explore his own artistic talents, especially his interest in the up-and-coming field of photography. After working for several years at the shipyards in Wilmington, NC, to save enough money for school, and with home financial assistance from his father, James enrolled at the Eastman School of Photography in McMinnville, Tennessee in 1916. He excelled in his classes and graduated two years later with a Technical Degree, whereupon he came home to Raleigh to set up his photographic business.

Because school had depleted his financial resources, James worked as a freelance photographer for several years, all the while buying equipment and planning his studio. At school, he had discovered his real talent lay in portrait photography, so his plans were to use this skill as the foundation for a comprehensive photographic operation. For a while, James worked out of his father’s home at 515 North Person Street, using the parlor as a shooting room and doing the laboratory work in a side room that he had converted into a darkroom.

When Hudson-Belk announced the construction of its new department store on Fayetteville Street (late 1920’s), James met with the Hudsons and they committed space for a studio, laboratory and darkroom on the third floor of the new building. Belk’s built this space to his specifications, as much of the plumbing, lighting and layout was designed for the needs of his studio. Thus began Denmark Studio, located in the southwest corner of the third floor of the Hudson Belk building.

Fayetteville Street was the heart of “Downtown Raleigh” in those days. In addition to the State Capitol and state government buildings at one end, there were many landmark businesses along its length. To mention a few that stand out, the Sir Walter Hotel, Insurance Building, CP & L Building, the US Post Office, Ambassador Theater, Briggs Hardware, Woolworths, and many others. As most of us know, the Hudson-Belk building is located immediately across the street from the Wake County Courthouse.

Denmark Studio was successful from the start. In addition to his portrait specialty, James also photographed weddings, civic and cultural events, pictures for the News and Observer and Raleigh Times newspapers, advertisement and promotional photos, construction site photography, to mention a few. All photography was black and white as color processes were not yet available. Around this time, James delved into motion pictures and tried to work motion pictures into his business as well. The additional specialized equipment, and the high degree of specialization necessary for this growing technology caused him not to pursue moving picture photography as anything more than a sideline. Thus, movies were never a significant part of his business.

Almost from the beginning, James’ specialization in portrait photography brought him recognition. His pictures appeared in photographic magazines and he won several awards for his portrait photographs. James Denmark may very well have been the Sam Gray of his day. Being close to the state government offices brought James business from legislators, governors and political persons, in addition to many of the professional people which downtown Raleigh was attracting. The Hudson-Belk location was proving to be a significant key to the success of Denmark Studio.

World War II brought a rush of activity to James’ business. Fathers and sons, headed for military posts were photographed, and family pictures were made for them to carry while stationed away from home. In order to deal with the new demand, James hired his sister, Leonita, to run the business office so he could devote his time and attention to the photographic operations. Leonita added another aspect to the Studio—as a portrait artist, she could take the black and white portraits and expertly color tint them, no small feat in those days. This new capability only increased demand for color photographs, and having someone to handle the financial operations of the studio took a burden off James, who never liked the “business” side of photography, anyway. Also, James hired Louis Nassef, an expert laboratory technician, to run the darkroom and processing side of the business. Louis became a fine photographer in his own right and James’ trusted friend. The addition of these persons freed James to devote most of his time to his first love, making portrait photographs. Photographing children became his specialty. An excerpt from Fred Powledge’s book, Journey Through The South, states, “(James Denmark) could make the plainest baby look lovable, or at least make him smile.” To this day, pictures of children (now adults) made by James Denmark, are in many homes in central and eastern North Carolina.

An interesting “boost” to Denmark Studio came when Belk’s installed an escalator in their building in the early 50’s. Heralded as one of the first such “moving staircases” in the area, many persons came to Belk’s to try out the new machinery. As luck would have it, Denmark Studio was immediately in front of anyone getting off the escalator on the third floor. At sister Leonita’ s suggestion, a display area was set up outside the lobby of the Studio, showing some of the Studio’s latest and best portraits and photographs. Soon, the display became a “Who’s Who” of the Raleigh area and considerable demand for photographs was generated as many prominent citizens wanted their countenances prominently displayed in front of Denmark Studio. Perhaps this was the latter day equivalent to the annual photographic display in Crabtree Valley mall that has become so popular in recent years.

The “baby boom,” after World War II, saw a continuation of the good business that the war years brought to the Studio. Then minor disaster struck; Leonita developed cancer and became incapacitated for several months. Her temporary loss had a drastic effect on business as the ability to do color-tinted portraits, previously a specialty of the Studio, was no longer available. Also, other competing studios had sprung up in Raleigh offering color photography at significantly reduced prices. Although Leonita returned to the Studio after successful treatment, her reduced work schedule, the decreased demand for hand-tinted color portraits, and the addition of competing color-capable studios severely impacted Denmark Studio. Business suffered as a result.

Nonetheless, there was still demand for the personal touch of the hand-tinted portraits, and when the Korean War broke out, a repeat of the boom of the previous war years emerged, although not as prolonged. There were other problems, however. Louis Nassef left to establish himself in an out-of-town studio, leaving much of the lab work for James to do once again. Belk’s raised its rent significantly, forcing the Studio to seek another place for its darkroom and laboratory operation. About 1952, the developing and processing laboratory relocated to the third floor of the Academy Building, next door to the State Theater on Salisbury Street, where James operated it until his death.