plified in the 1975 image,Hospice at Ivry-sur-Seine,
Val-de-Marne where an elderly woman mimics
Franck’s act of photographing. The woman’s face
scrunches up and her eyes twinkle. Other portraits
of the elderly convey their loneliness and dejected
feelings as life closes in around them, even during
the momentary joy of holidays shared with the Les
Petits Freres des Pauvres. Capturing the private moments of well-known people in the arts is another important portion of Franck’s portraits. Lili Brik, companion of the Soviet poet and play- wright Vladimir Mayakovsky and sister of Elsa Triolet, reclines pensively in her sumptuous chair in a Paris hotel in 1976. Brik’s dramatically made- up eyes avert away from the camera’s perspective. Yet in another image dated 1993, a casually posed Curator-in-Chief Pierre Rosenberg smiles proudly in front of one of his favorite paintings by Rubens at the Muse ́e du Louvre. In a portrait dated 1978, Michel Foucault’s intense gaze, doubled by the light reflections on his glasses and the gesture of his finger held across his lips, makes us uncomfortable, much like his thought-provoking theories. Many of these portraits have become telling documents of a particular moment in time. The same sensitive handling of the human face is expressed in Franck’s images of children and the innocence of childhood, or in some cases lack of, found in the most unusual circumstances. The expressions and gestures of the three boys amidst the rusted junk cars inGraveyard for stolen cars, Darndale (on the outskirts of Dublin), Ireland, 1993 are disturbing and serve as contrast to the anxious young faces of the ballerinas inPetits rats (young dancers) of the Paris Opera in the foyer of the Opera Garnier, Paris, France, 1979.The concrete sided staircase wraps around and carries the curious faces of little children up to the very top in the 1965 photo,Children’s library built by the Atelier de Montrouge, Clamart. Whenever the human element is the subject of Franck’s camera, compassion links all. This compas- sion has caused her to form long-term associations with several organizations, such as The ́aˆtre du Solei and Les Petits Freres des Pauvres. Her work in the
1990s with this latter organization was part of a
photo project on exclusion in Europe with Franck’s
most notable contribution being of Tory Island, off
the Donegal coast of Ireland, from 1993 to 1997. A
rugged, desolate place with a population of only 130
people, the Irish government sought to transplant
the people from what is perceived as an impractical
way of life. Without actively intervening in their
lives, Franck managed to document the tight-knit
community where all are subtly intertwined in a
timeless way apart from the fast moving global econ-
omy.Thecircleoflifeexpressedinthejoyfulimage,
The wedding of Tory Islander Pauline Doohan to
Brian Gallagher, 1996, corresponds to the portrait
ofFrancis McAteer, replacement parish priest of Tory
Island, 1993, who oversees the joys and sorrows of
the village. Thirty-five of these images were part of
the exhibit,Magnum’s Women Photographers,atthe
National Galleries of Scotland in Edinburgh in 1999.
In the 1990s, Franck became interested in the
cause of the displaced Tibetan Buddhist people
living in Nepal and India. This project specifically
addresses the life of the ‘‘Tulkus,’’ the young rein-
carnations of great Tibetan lamas. Her images tell a
story and yet also are making a difference by illus-
trating the continuation of traditions and rituals
outside of their sacred homeland. Young boys are
photographed being playful with their tutor or
merely sleeping on their thrones surrounded by
the tributes of the Tibetan New Year celebration.
Her sharp eye seeking the socially marginalized, the
devoted amidst desolation, and the displaced con-
tinues, becoming part of the diverse body of work
Franck has created since 1963.
Married to Henri Cartier-Bresson since 1970,
Franck was one of the few permitted to photograph
the reticent photographer. She and their daughter,
Melanie, worked together to create the Fondation
Henri Cartier-Bresson in Paris.
SusanTodd-RaqueSeealso:Cartier-Bresson, Henri; Life; Photography
in Europe: France; PortraitureBiography
Born in Antwerp, Belgium, 2 April 1938. Studied at the
University of Madrid and Ecole du Louvre, Paris
(1956–1963). Began photographing in 1963. Assistant to
Eliot Eliosofon and Gjon Mili of Time-Life Photo
Laboratories, Paris, 1964. Freelance photographer for
Life, Fortune, Sports Illustrated, New York Times,
Vogue, and others since 1965. Photographer for the The ́aˆ -
tre du Solei cooperative in Paris since 1965. Member of
Vu Photographers Agency 1970–1971; Founding mem-
ber of Agence Viva, 1972–1979; Associate Member, 1980,
and Member since 1983 of Magnum Photos cooperative
agency. In 1995 worked on film,Ariane et compagnie: le
The ́aˆtre du Soleil, with Robert Delpire. Married to Henri
Cartier-Bresson since 1970. One daughter, Melanie.Individual Exhibitions
1971 Le The ́aˆ tre du Soleil, Galerie Rencontre, Paris
1974 La Paroisse St. Pierre de Chaillot, Chaillot-Galliera, Paris
1976 Marches et Foires, Les Amis des Arts, Reillanne,
ProvenceFRANCK, MARTINE