Marc Lacroix, French (1927 - 2007)

After high school, Lacroix enlisted in the French Army and was soon sent to serve in North Africa. During his one year in the army, he took thousands of photographs featuring the people and landscapes of Morocco. Although still in his early twenties, his photos attracted the attention of French publishers, and after leaving the army, he worked as a photographer in Morocco, reporting to French publications specializing in architecture and interior design.

In 1965 he returned to France where he became friendly with different artists, jazz musicians, singers, painters, and sculptors, and consequently took numerous photographs of them for art magazines and movie reviews. He also worked in a movie production and improved his experience in diversity and quality.

In France, Lacroix continue to work for art and architectural magazines. Gaining increased recognition he was asked to act as a photographer for major European museums including, Chagall Museum in Nice, Palais des Doges in Venice and Florence, Prince Rainier's Palace in Monte Carlo, for Prince Louis de Polignac, and the French Department of Historical Monuments for Rene Briat.

During this period, Lacroix became a specialist in photographing classical and historical monuments. He was a perfectionist with a natural gift for evoking the mood of by-gone eras. He applied his knowledge of precise lighting and setting to both his images paralleled the interest and research of another artist, Salvador Dali.

Dali was studying Vermeer's technique attracted by his distinctive use of light and the simpleness of his painting. Inevitably, one memorable day, Marc Lacroix met Salvador Dali as a result of their mutual interests in special photographic effects. The master of surrealism encouraged Lacroix to persevere.

In 1971, Dali and Lacroix produced a special Christmas edition of VOGUE Magazine, in which Lacroix's photographs in combination with Dali's pictures became famous. Later, Dali worked with Lacroix to develop a new technique - stereoscopic painting (three dimensional painting).

In 1974, at the opening of the DALI MUSEUM in Figueras, Spain, Dali reserved a large room for Lacroix's photographs. The following years the NIKON Gallery in Paris exhibited Lacroix's photographs in conjunction with the work of Robert Descharnes, a writer and photographer who also worked with Dali. In addition to his collaboration with Dali, Lacroix photographed major private and public oil painting collections; the Bank Lambert Collection in Brussels, the Durand Ruel in Paris, Picasso's Museum in Barcelona and The Centre Pompidou, Beaubourg, Paris.

In conclusion, Marc Lacroix studied and became equally successful in various photographic fields, although his work with Dali contributed the most to this fame. At this time, his photographs are permanently displayed in the DALI MUSEUM in Figueras, Spain. Anyone who has seen his portraits of Dali can admire the fantastic diversity of character of the model reflected in each photograph with an incredible sensitivity. Lacroix needs to know the personality of his model intimately and especially with Salvador Dali. It is obvious that the communion has been made. The photographs are a tribute to these two artists, Dali as subject and Lacroix as creator. In this case, surrealism exists on both sides of the camera.