--- title: Julia Child and Paul Child in France Showcased in Photo Book description: Paul Child, best known as the husband of chef Julia Child, was a masterful artist in his own right, as his photographs make clear. canonical: https://time.com/4982148/paul-julia-child-photographs/ author: Liz Ronk article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-10-24T13:00:33.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T04:58:24.231Z article:section: History og:title: Julia Child and Paul Child in France Showcased in Photo Book og:description: Paul Child, best known as the husband of chef Julia Child, was a masterful artist in his own right, as his photographs make clear og:url: https://time.com/4982148/paul-julia-child-photographs/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc3c327153fdb4004/6988e1ee0a4a22c3779d0545/julia-and-paul-child-france-08.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Paul and Julia Child Book og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Julia Child and Paul Child in France Showcased in Photo Book twitter:description: Paul Child, best known as the husband of chef Julia Child, was a masterful artist in his own right, as his photographs make clear twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc3c327153fdb4004/6988e1ee0a4a22c3779d0545/julia-and-paul-child-france-08.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # See Julia Child in France as Captured by Her Husband's Camera by [Liz Ronk](https://time.com/author/liz-ronk/) ## Liz Ronk Oct 24, 2017 1:00 PM UTC  Les Trois Gourmandes, (aka “The School of Hearty Eaters”), Julia, Simca, and Louisette, 81 Rue de l’Université, 1953. Les Trois Gourmandes, (aka “The School of Hearty Eaters”), Julia, Simca, and Louisette, 81 Rue de l’Université, 1953.Paul Child—The Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute, Harvard University by [Liz Ronk](https://time.com/author/liz-ronk/) ## Liz Ronk Oct 24, 2017 1:00 PM UTC When [Julia Child](http://time.com/4680109/julia-child-william-safire-wine/)‘s memoir was released in 2006 — _My Life in France_, published posthumously with the help of her husband Paul’s grandnephew Alex Prud’homme — most readers presumably picked it up to learn about the[ famed chef](http://time.com/4347115/julia-child-big-mac-hamburger-day/)‘s life in and out of the kitchen. But, sprinkled amid the text, there was another treat: the photography of Paul Child, a masterful artist in his own right. In the new book [_France is a Feast: The Photographic Journey of Paul and Julia Child_](http://www.thamesandhudsonusa.com/books/france-is-a-feast-the-photographic-journey-of-paul-and-julia-child-hardcover), by Prud’homme and Katie Pratt, his work takes center stage in what Prud’homme describes as a “visual extension of Julia’s memoir, an extension that lets Paul’s imagery take the lead.” In 1948, Paul and Julia moved to France when he took on the position as cultural attaché for the U_._S. Information Service. He worked out of the U.S. Embassy in Paris curating and promoting American art in France. The couple would move around France and the rest of Europe during the tenure of his position, but one thing would always remain the same: a constant curiosity about the cities they lived in, from Paris to Marseille and beyond. With Julia by his side, Paul would wander the streets and snap away. According to Prud’homme, he was known as a prolific picture-taker and rarely left home without a camera or two. The more than 200 images in the book are a small sampling of a vast archive focusing on their lives in France roughly during the years of 1948-1954. Although Child did not have a traditional education in photography, he did have formal training as a painter and in graphic arts. He was a master of light, capturing the subtle details of shadows and highlights, creating photos rather than taking them. This mastery can be seen in slide number six above, with Julia’s leg illuminated by a simple wall lamp. The frames surrounding this particular image are highlighted in a filmstrip published in the book. Julia makes many appearances in the book and is clearly his muse.  France Is A Feast: The Photographic Journey of Paul and Julia Child Courtesy Thames & Hudson During these years, France was a hotbed of creativity with many artists and writers passing through. In 1952, Paul met the great photographer and director of the photography department at MoMA, Edward Steichen. During their discussions, Steichen noted that Child was “a great photographer” and selected six images to be a part of the permanent collection at the New York City Museum. “He was a true artist,” Pratt writes in the forward to _France is a Feast_, “always pushing himself in his own creative process, continuing to explore the media he was using (primarily photography and painting) and always driven to improve on his own work.”  Paul and Julia Child, Marseille, 1950. Paul Child—The Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute, Harvard University  Julia Child, Cassis, 1950. Paul Child—The Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute, Harvard University  Rooftops of Sancerre from tower just before the snow, 1951. Paul Child—The Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute, Harvard University  Paul and Charles Child, Cassis, 1950. Paul Child—The Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute, Harvard University  Corner house, Rouen, 1951. Paul Child—The Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute, Harvard University  Julia Child on the telephone, Aubazine, 1952. Paul Child—The Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute, Harvard University  Julia in the kitchen, London, 1952. Paul Child—The Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute, Harvard University  Les Trois Gourmandes, (aka “The School of Hearty Eaters”), Julia, Simca, and Louisette, 81 Rue de l’Université, 1953. Paul Child—The Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute, Harvard University  Salon Léo, 1954. Paul Child—The Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute, Harvard University  Julia Child at the top of the stairs, 1955. Paul Child—The Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute, Harvard University ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4982148/paul-julia-child-photographs/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4982148/paul-julia-child-photographs/"},"headline":"See Julia Child in France as Captured by Her Husband's Camera","datePublished":"2017-10-24T13:00:33.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T04:58:24.231Z","description":"Paul Child, best known as the husband of chef Julia Child, was a masterful artist in his own right, as his photographs make clear","url":"https://time.com/4982148/paul-julia-child-photographs/","keywords":["photography","France"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc3c327153fdb4004/6988e1ee0a4a22c3779d0545/julia-and-paul-child-france-08.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Liz Ronk","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/liz-ronk/"}],"articleSection":"History","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc3c327153fdb4004/6988e1ee0a4a22c3779d0545/julia-and-paul-child-france-08.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Paul and Julia Child Book","caption":"Julia Child by her husband Paul Child in France in the 1950s.","creditText":"Paul Child—The Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute, Harvard University","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/history/","name":"History"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/photography/","name":"photography"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4982148/paul-julia-child-photographs/","name":"See Julia Child in France as Captured by Her Husband's Camera"}}]}] ```