France is a Feast

France is a Feast documents, through intimate and compelling photographs, Julia Child discovering French cooking and the French way of life. It all began under the guidance of her husband Paul, a passionate photographer. Paul and Julia Child moved to Paris in 1948 where he was the cultural attaché for the US Information Service, and in this role he first met Henri Cartier-Bresson, Robert Capa, Brassaï and other leading lights of the photography world. As Julia recalled, ‘Paris was wonderfully walkable, and it was a natural subject for Paul.’ Their wanderings through Paris and the French countryside frequently photographed by Paul, would help lead to the classic Mastering the Art of French Cooking, and Julia Child’s brilliant and celebrated career in books and television.

Though Paul Child was an accomplished photographer (his work is in the collection of The Museum of Modern Art), his photographs remained out of the public eye until the publication of Julia Child’s memoir, in which many of his photographs were included. In helping to tell Julia’s story, they also brought to light the remarkable photographic achievement of Paul Child.