« Peter Turnley belongs to the rare and therefore precious breed of Americans who get a cheap thrill at immersing themselves with the people of Paris… For those able to read into them, Peter’s photos reveal his fraternal tenderness for my fellow citizens. » Robert Doisneau, Paris 1983
Peter Turnley is heir to the great masters of French photography like Brassai, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Robert Doisneau and Édouard Boubat. He began by assisting Robert Doisneau before quite understandably becoming a close friend of Édouard oubat’s. The influence of these masterpieces of French photography on Turnley’s work is obvious and is also seen as a tribute, overflowing with affection. At the same time however, it is Turnley’s sensitive and personal perception, dazzled for 25 years by what he considers the most beautiful city in the world.
For almost seventeen years through his job as a photo reporter, Peter Turnley has travelled throughout the world, witnessing war, revolution, natural disaster, famine and genocide. By dint of translating the human dimension of what happens in the world, his aspiration for inner peace has been confronted with countless horrors. This frenzied and unsettling demand has continually always brought him back to Paris, an ideal city to keep recharging one’s batteries.
The photos that he takes of Paris are a tender and happy harmony compared to the violent and often harsh photos taken for his job as a photo reporter.
Extract from Peter Turnley’s book – Parisians, Editions Abbeville