The picture was the centerpiece of an ad compaign commissioned by The French Government Tourist Office’s then-director, George Hern, and carried out by the advertising agency Doyle, Dane, Bernbach (the agency that served as the model for Mad Men), under the legendary, but now little-known, Mary Wells Lawrence.
When Marion signed off saying, “if this isn’t the picture you were thinking of, at least we learned something,” I knew she was right.
But I more than learned something, I got to spend 15 extraordinarily wonderful minutes watching a slideshow of Elliott Erwitt’s work and realizing that while I didn’t know much about him, I knew many of his photographs. “Provence” is not his only icon.
If you want to give yourself a real treat, set aside a little time and watch the Elliott Erwitt Slideshow. I thanked Marion for giving me this pleasure, but we should all thank Mr. Erwitt.