FACCHETTI (Paul). - Lot 103

FACCHETTI (Paul). Singular Traits. Preceded by *Allée des visages* by Bernard Lamarche-Vadel. Paris, À Une Soie, [circa 1987–1988]. Large quarto, paperback, illustrated cloth-bound cover. First edition of this book devoted to the portraits of Paul Facchetti (1912–2010), gallery owner, publisher, and photographer, a key figure in the postwar Parisian avant-garde. Founder of the famous Facchetti Gallery, he was notably the first in France to champion American Abstract Expressionism and to exhibit works by Jackson Pollock, Mark Tobey, Sam Francis, and Jean Dubuffet. This collection brings together a remarkable gallery of portraits of major 20th-century writers, artists, philosophers, and creators. The images, characterized by great formal restraint, emphasize the subjects’ expression and psychology rather than staged poses, revealing Facchetti’s profoundly humanistic perspective. The volume is prefaced by an extensive essay by Bernard Lamarche-Vadel, which situates this body of photographic work within the author’s unique career, at the intersection of photography, publishing, and contemporary art. A rare publication, produced with great typographic care, it is now sought after both for the quality of its reproductions and for its documentary value regarding the Parisian art scene from the 1950s to the 1980s. Condition: good copy. Cover is slightly yellowed with a few very subtle signs of wear and minor marginal marks. Interior is fresh and complete.