Love on the Left Bank: Amazing Black and White Photos of Bohemian Life in Paris in 1950

Dutch photographer Ed van der Elsken was part of the scene in Paris at the time, and in 1956, he published a ground-breaking photobook called Love on the Left Bank. His gritty, sexy, black-and-white photos of bohemian life in Paris captured a reckless, carefree, decadent and hedonistic love for life.

Vali Myers, the Australian artist, featured in this book as ‘Ann’, was born in 1930 in Sydney. A self taught artist, she was already a leading dancer in Melbourne before leaving for Paris in 1949. During the post-war years, living in the streets and cafés of St.Germain des Prés, she continued to dance and draw. Later Vali travelled extensively and became internationally known as an artist. She founded the Il Porto Wildlife Oasis, near Positano, Italy and has her own studio-gallery in Melbourne.

(© Ed Van der Elsken / Nederlands Fotomuseum, courtesy Annet Gelink Gallery, via LensCulture)