The photographic oeuvre by Martine Franck (1938–2012) has finally been assembled in this comprehensive monograph, the most exhaustive to date, edited by Agnès Sire, artistic director of the Fondation Henri Cartier-Bresson. The work on this book has been undertaken in 2011 with Martine Franck. Through a chronological journey, including many unpublished images, the photographer has conceived different chapters spanning her entire life.

Feminism, social deprivation, the elderly, and Buddhism join artists, writers and landscapes as subjects that are visited and revisited over the years and through various travels to the United States, United Kingdom, Ireland or Asia, scrutinized through the lens of her selfless sensitivity, an eye for form and composition for the woman who wished to “greet the unexpected”. Her celebration of life, the joy of her knowing eye, and her commitment to different causes made Martine Franck a major figure on the international photographic scene.