They leap, jump, speed by in goggles and clouds of dust, dive into ponds, paddle barrels across lakes and promenade in the Bois de Boulogne with elegant hats and parasols. Jacques Henri Lartigue (1894 – 1986) photographed his family and friends, capturing the glamour of the good life in 20th century France – taking pictures spanning eight decades, from the first photographs he took of his parents in 1901 to the sixties and beyond…
Born in Courbevoie, near Paris, Jacques-Henri Lartigue was seven years old when his father gave him a hand camera as a Christmas gift. The young Lartigue enthusiastically photographed the privileged world in which he lived, capturing scenes of daily life: elegant men and women promenading on the Bois de Boulogne, along the beach, or at the races; his older brother’s exploits with a homemade glider and bobsleigh; the exciting speed of automobiles and flying machines..