Robert Doisneau Palm Springs

A previously unpublished collection of Robert Doisneau’s color photography provides a unique opportunity to revisit the early years of one of America’s legendary holiday destinations. In 1960, Robert Doisneau was invited by Fortune magazine to cover Palm Springs, the hottest travel destination of the day. Renowned as a playground for the rich and famous, as well as for a silver-haired and well-heeled clientele, it was a world of swimming pools awash with bobbing beehives, martini-fueled parties, and relaxed games of golf, all unfolding against a desert backdrop. There, Doisneau took hundreds of photographs, twenty-three of which were published in the magazine. The rest have been rediscovered in his archives and one hundred are featured here for the first time. Doisneau is best known for his black and white portraits of Parisian street scenes. This rare color collection—which is supplemented with a facsimile reproduction of Doisneau’s original Fortune article—offers a new perspective on his photographic legacy. Accompanying these nostalgic images are extracts from the photographer’s personal correspondence—small masterpieces of derision and self-derision in which he describes being marooned in the "world capital of winter golf"—and an equally amusing introduction written by award-winning French novelist Jean-Paul Dubois.

From high-society balls and fashion shoots to portraits of artists and scenes from urban life in France, this handsome volume—which features an open spine binding so that it lays flat to show off the photographs to their best advantage—showcases Doisneau’s best photographs for Vogue Paris. Celebrated photographer Robert Doisneau worked for Vogue from 1949 until 1965, illustrating a postwar France filled with a renewed zest for life. His little-known images of haute couture featured models like Brigitte Bardot and Bettina, who he photographed in the studio and out on the streets. He chronicled the members of the café society in their stately homes and at glamorous costume galas, dancing the night away. Best known for his humanist approach, he masterfully captured scenes from everyday life—from the grace of a wedding procession over a footbridge to the petulance of a child impatient for cake. Doisneau’s photographs captured the spirit of the era and featured celebrities like Karen Blixen, Picasso, Colette, and Jean Cocteau, as well as jazz musicians, movie stars, and humble craftsmen at work. Legendary Vogue editor in chief Edmonde Charles-Roux’s personal homage to the photographer—who was her friend and colleague—offers intimate insight into the man behind the camera, as complex and beautiful as the people and places he immortalized.

Doisneau’s photographs evoke nostalgia for the days when the now vanished Les Halles market, "the belly of Paris," sprawled across the center of the city. From fur-clad socialites to burly market porters, Doisneau captured the essence of every brand of Parisian character and the poetry in ordinary scenes: a cheery fruit seller bellowing from behind a pyramid of oranges, a fish vendor haggling over the price of the daily catch, or a mountain of floral bouquets ready to grace Parisian dinner tables. This volume exhibits some of Doisneau’s lesser-known yet extraordinary works, including six rare color photographs. Publication coincides with the ongoing long-awaited redevelopment of this Parisian hub.

This seminal volume—produced in close collaboration with his estate—is the official, most comprehensive reference of Robert Doisneau’s photographs of Paris. Robert Doisneau infused images of daily life with poetic nuance. This unique portrait of Paris in 560 photographs is reissued in hardcover with red-tipped pages. This entrancing tour through the gardens of Paris, along the Seine, and among crowds of Parisians includes children scrambling to cross rue de Rivoli, fresh-faced accordionists, elegant dog walkers, brave resistance fighters, exuberant roller skaters, the indelible kiss in front of the Hôtel de Ville, and cyclists beneath the Eiffel Tower. The magic of Paris in black and white is timeless. Photographs curated by Doisneau’s daughters and complemented by Doisneau’s own commentary reveal his profound fascination with the city where he lived and worked.

With camera in hand, master photographer Robert Doisneau crisscrossed Paris to capture intimate moments with star musicians such as Eartha Kitt in a jazz club, Django Reinhardt at home, and Yehudi Menuhin backstage, or with locals at a neighborhood dance or jamming together in a brass band. He was commissioned for portraits of Georges Brassens, Juliette Greco, Charles Aznavour, or Claude Francois, and he immortalized a new generation of musicians in the 1980s including Rita Mitsouko, Les Negresses Vertes, Pierre Schaeffer, and Pierre Boulez. Doisneau's lifelong friend Maurice Baquet with his cello formed a photogenic duo on impromptu outings that gave rise to iconic images. Doisneau's passion for the energy and joy inherent in the music world comes alive on the page in images that cover the musical spectrum, from classical and jazz to be-bop to the roots of modern rap and alternative rock. This book-curated by the photographer's granddaughter to accompany an exhibition at the Philharmonie de Paris that will include music by Moriarty and scenography by Stephan Zimmerli- features more than one hundred photographs, many previously unpublished, that showcase the artist's mastery in editing, special effects, photomontage, collage, photo distortions, and splits.

Midnight Modern brings into focus a view of Palm Springs and its internationally renowned modernist houses never before shown, shot entirely by the light of the full moon. Created over the course of three years by Australian photographer Tom Blachford, the surreal images function as portals in time, with the homes, cars, and beautiful scenery appearing almost exactly as it all did 60 years ago. The crisp moonlight adds a new dimension to the famous mecca of desert modernism and shows a contrasting side of a town famous for its sunshine, cocktails, and hedonism. Working closely with the Palm Springs community, Blachford gained remarkable access to some of the most coveted architectural jewels in the area, including the Kaufmann Desert House, Edris House, Frey House II, Frank Sinatra Twin Palms Estate, and dozens of restored Alexander tract homes in the valley. Blachford's work builds on the famous documentary and lifestyle approaches of Julius Shulman and Slim Aarons, but injects a signature mystery. His cinematic aesthetic acts as a stage for an untold narrative, inviting the viewer to script their own drama going on behind the walls of these historic homes. This original, lush work is a rich contribution to the record for those midcentury architecture and design lovers fascinated by Palm Springs.

The original French-language edition of this book was published on the occasion of the exhibition: Robert Doisneau, From craft to art at the Fondation Henri Cartier-Bresson from January 13th to April 18th 2010.

Focusing on the arcades of 19th-century Paris--glass-roofed rows of shops that were early centers of consumerism--Benjamin presents a montage of quotations from, and reflections on, hundreds of published sources. 46 illustrations.