February 27th, 2021 Spotlight on France Is A Feast and Paul Child's Photography

 Good day folks, I hope everyone is having a great Saturday and is doing well. 

We discuss a lot of different things here on my blog, I always try to be as original and interesting as I possibly can. My aim is not trying to be like other blogs. That being said let's hop into today's post.

" When one follows the artist's eye, one sees unexpected treasures.... I always enjoyed going on a shoot with Paul because I saw more than I would have on my own. He was interested in every aspect [ of Paris], and taught me to appreciate things that I would have otherwise just skimmed over or missed.... He caught the spirit of the city."- Julia Child

I have mentioned the incredible 'dame de cuisine' and chef Julia Child on this blog a few times. Simply because this a pop culture blog and Julia is very much apart of that. Many of you may have heard of Julia or watched her on television for years, but how much do you know about Paul Child, her husband?

This book is not an all-out biography on Paul, but it takes us on an adventure of his long accomplished life, along with Julia, as he captures their time in France. Paul Child was not only an incredible artist, but he was a gifted photographer as well. This book offers us an extraordinary view through photographs of his life with Julia, but also tells the tale about who Paul Child was as well. This book not only highlights his photography but gives us experts here and there as well. 

You might remember Stanley Tucci playing Paul, in Nora Ephron's movie Julie & Julia. Tucci may have played a good part this was the real Paul Child. The man whom Julia said " If it wasn't for Paul, I wouldn't have had my career"

Paul Cushing Child was born in Montclair New Jersey on January 15th, 1902. After the death of his father, his mother moved.  him and his twin brother Charlie and Sista Meeda to Boston. In his adulthood, he became a teacher as well as joining the Canadian army. He traveled the world in his 20s and 30s. Including Cuba, and France. He settled back in Boston where he taught at the Avon school in Connecticut teaching a young Pete Seeger. He also was a fourth-degree black belt in Judo and was a Judo instructor. 

World War II broke out and Paul joined the O.S.S. ( Now the CIA). Where he designed war maps and rooms for General Batten. He was stationed in China, India, and Kandy Ceylon ( Now Sri Lanka). It was there where he would meet his future wife and soul mate Julia McWilliams. They married in 1946 and in 1948 Paul was transferred to Paris as a diplomat to work for the U.S state department. 

Since Paul was an avid photographer, he often took his camera out to capture Paris recovering from the war.  This book although focuses on Paris and other parts of France, some of his older work shows up as well. There are many pictures of Julia and you can clearly tell she was his muse. 

As someone who has always been a huge fan of Julia Child, I always wanted to know more about Paul's photography. This book puts a light on that as much as it can. I don't think enough can be said as Paul was an artist of many talents as many people noted. I would love to see a collection of his art in a book. That being said, this book is a must for any fan of Julia, and photography. The book has a dust cover, and the binding is pretty decent as well. It makes a great coffee table book. 

This book was created by Alex Prud'Homme who was one of Paul and Julia's great-nephews, and Katie Pratt.

You can find this wonderful book here: France is a Feast

A reminder to check out my page of Facebook: Learning Life with Leah 

Patreon:Patreon  

Podcast on Anchor: podcast