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A previously unpublished collection of Robert Doisneau's color photography provides a unique opportunity to revisit the early years of one of America's legendary holiday destinations.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 collectionwhich is supplemented with a facsimile reproduction of Doisneau's original Fortune articleoffers a new perspective on his photographic legacy. Accompanying these nostalgic images are extracts from the photographer's personal correspondencesmall 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.

Robert Doisneau (1912–1994) is one of the world’s most famous and popular photographers. His poetic, touching, and at times nostalgic images have become iconic. He worked as a professional photographer in industry, journalism, and fashion, and later as a freelancer, but his real interest lay in capturing ordinary people in everyday situations on film. Jean-Paul Dubois has written numerous novels including Vie Française (Vintage, 2008).