Lucien Clergue (1934-2014) was a legendary fine art photographer, author, educator and filmmaker. His work has been associated with significant artists of the 20th century, including Jean Cocteau, Pablo Picasso, Roland Barthes, Max Ernst, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Robert Doisneau, Salvador Dali, Jean Renoir, André Kertész, Marcel Breuer and many others.
Clergue captured extraordinary images of acrobats, nudes, the bullfight, intimate portraits of artists, intellectuals, musicians and creative individuals. His long friendship with Pablo Picasso is also documented in his work. His photographic artistry extends to experimental and visionary images. In addition to photography, Clergue has created and directed numerous art related films. He is co-founder, along with writer Michel Tournier and historian Jean-Maurice Rouquette, of the annual Les Rencontres d’Arles Photographie (ongoing since 1970), the internationally recognized photography festival in Arles, France.
Lucien Clergue is one of only three photographers (including Henri Cartier-Bresson and André Kertész) to receive the French Legion of Honor award. He is also the first photographer to hold the title of President of The Académie des Beaux-Arts, one of the five academies of the Institut de France. Clergue's photographs have been exhibited in numerous solo exhibitions worldwide and are in museum collections such as the MOMA, LACMA, Harvard University’s Fogg Museum (over 400 photographs), MFA Boston (over 200 photographs) and many others.
The photographs of Jean Cocteau by Lucien Clergue are also in the permanent collection of the Jean Cocteau Museum in Menton, France and were on view when the museum opened.