The Hungarian Paul Almasy has traveled the world, but Paris has been his home for more than 60 years. These pictures span 1940-68, though most come from 1945-60, when the French capitol reasserted itself as Europe's cultural center. The work of a self-described journalist-photographer, they aren't, however, just illustrations for news stories. They have more spiritual force than that. "Rock 'n' roll on the banks of the Seine, 1950s" leaps off the page with joie de vivre, but elegantly, thanks to the arch of a bridge near-perfectly framing two dancers and their onlookers and the sunlight on the river beyond the bridge silhouetting the male dancer's arabesque. "Charles de Gaulle at a press conference, 1958" almost levitates from his chair as he pounds the microphone-laden table--his fists are a blur--in the vehemence of his argument. As the worker in "Poster billing, 1952" reaches to brush down a corner, his counterbalancing leg perfectly parallels those of a leaping female skater in the posting he is covering up. C'est magnifique. Ray Olson

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Book Description

Paul Almasy: Paris

By Klaus Kleinschmidt and Axel Schmidt

Paul Almasy ’s Paris photographs offer a unique, rich, and multi- faceted portrait of the French capital over almost five decades. Unlike many other Paris photographers the Hungarian born photojournalist was able to combine the art of scenic milieu photography and portraiture with that of compelling political reportage. Paul Almasy: Paristhus includes not only beautifully observed scenes of everyday street, cafa, and market life from the time of the German occupation until the late sixties, but also images of victory celebrations and mass demonstrations, scenes from within the halls of power and intimate portraits of famous artists at work.

Publisher comments

Although Almasy traveled virtually the entire globe during his illustrious sixty- year career, Paris remained his spiritual home. While living there the photographer moved in a wide variety of social spheres, from the bohemian art world to the world of the aristocracy and political elite. Gathered together in this volume are stunning images of life on the Seine, fascinating portraits of Yves Saint Laurent, Alberto Giacometti, Jean Cocteau, Colette, Andre Breton and Alain Delon, and scenes from the political lives of Charles de Gaulle, the Duke of Windsor, and General Dwight D. Eisenhower.

About the author

Born in 1906, Paul Almasy produced his first illustrated press reports in 1929. In the 1970s he held professorships at the Centre de Perfectionnement des Journalistes in Paris and at the Sorbonne. In 1994 he was awarded the French order Pour le Merite. Almasy now lives outside Paris.