Maker/Artist
Lartigue, Jacques-Henri
French photographer, 1894-1986
Lartigue's photographs are remarkable for their ability to capture the idyllic world of a past era. He took his first photographs at age six, taking pictures of the activities of the well-to-do Lartigue family, typically kite-flying and racing. He took his first action shots beginning in 1904, one of his most famous being "Delaye Grand Prix" (1912), in which a frozen automobile contrasts with the blur of figures in the background. From 1908 to 1910, he created a collection of shots of airplanes and pioneers of aviation. When the family moved to Paris in 1911, he became fascinated with the worldly ladies and actresses around the city. He enlisted in the French Air Force during World War I, but took few images if the war itself. During the 1970s and 1980s he took many portraits, including those of Arthur Rubenstein and Pablo Picasso.
