The story of Lartigue is a fascinating one. For most of his life Jacques-Henri didn’t think of himself as a serious photographer. He kept his amazing photographs in family albums on the bookshelves of his Paris apartment and he’d only occasionally show them to friends.
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| As a boy |
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| all grown up |
Born in 1894, the second son of wealthy parents, Jacques-Henri grew up in a family whose money paid for its fun and toys. Latrigue’s father raced cars, built gliders, and taught his son photography and processing when the boy was just six. Jacques-Henri’s enthusiasm for picture taking led his father to buy him his first camera when we was eight. It was the glass plate negative camera Jacques is holding in the photo.
Jacques-Henri’s photographs of his family were mostly taken when he was between the ages of eight and twelve.
His family were eccentric and very unique which has helped produce some amazing images.
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| Zissous bat |
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| First wife Bibi, Autochrome |
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| Cousin Simone on land bobsled |
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| Cousin Simone and her bobsled skids |
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| Boyhood photos |
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| Brother Zissou and his tyre boat invention |
Later, as a teenager, Lartigue sold a few pictures to sporting magazines but decided to become a painter rather than a photographer. Luckily, he continued photographing his life, including his three marriages, his many mistresses and his very famous friends.
Over the years, Lartigue would show his photo albums to friends but it wasn’t until 1963, when he was 69, that they were seen by John Szarkowski, then curator of the photography department at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Szarkowski recognized Lartigue’s genius and arranged an exhibition of his work at the museum.
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