At the age of 40, an unsuccessful Parisian actor and painter named Eugene Atget picked up a camera for the first time and documented his city in a monumental project that would eventually amass more than 10,000 images. Aside from an occasional glimpse of a streethawker or a prostitute, Atget's city is apartment buildings, alleyways, parkbenches, churches, cobblestones, and predawn light. Ansel Adams described these images as "direct and emotionally clean records of a rare and subtle perception." Indeed, Atget Paris is a beautiful, haunting portrait.

Molly McCall