Page 154 - WINE DINE AND TRAVEL SUMMER 2022 DISCOVERING MADRID

According to my grandmother, Albert's bald photography. The pair headed for China where
pate and bad complexion engendered low self-es- Alfred once again shot the first color images of
teem and a dislike of having his picture taken. In- the Middle Kingdom, of Manchuria, and of Japan.
deed, hardly any portraits of him remain, an irony Between 1909 and 1931, Albert amassed 72,000
for one who spent his life promoting the new color photographs and hundreds of hours of film.
medium of color photography and the recently in- These ground-breaking images today form part of
vented process called autochrome plates. Les Archives de la Planète, another of Kahn's
Unhappy in love, Albert retreated to his man- legacies. It is featured in The Wonderful World of
sion in Boulogne-sur-Seine, and began to land- Albert Kahn, a DVD produced by BBCWORLD ™.
scape his property with the flora he had acquired Albert, a kind and overly generous soul, hired a
in his travels. The lifelong Japanophile imported young relative to manage his finances. Alas, his
gardeners from Japan to create a Japanese in- advisor squandered Albert’s fortune in the Crash
spired landscape following the japonisme fashion of 1929. Albert’s beloved Jardins where eventu-
in vogue at the time, and commissioned botanical ally turned into a public park which fell into ne-
experts to plant a French garden, an English gar- glect. In recent years however, donors have
den, and even an Alpine garden. rallied to the cause, raising funds for the restora-
A negative self-image did not prevent Albert tion of the gardens and for its elaborate, Victo-
from ascending to the summit of the European rian-style greenhouse reminiscent of London's
banking establishment, and becoming one of the Kew Gardens. Thanks to their efforts, the re-
richest men in Europe before WWI. By then, he stored Musée Départemental Albert-Khan, a
had turned into a full-time philanthropist, offer- state appointed musée de France, reopened in
ing scholarships to professional photographers April 2022.
and students alike, arming them with the latest
photographic equipment, and funding their trav- IF YOU GO
els around the world to document daily life as
they witnessed it. He underwrote a number of
The Albert Kahn Museum and Garden is a cul-
foundations to promote peace and world har- tural and natural gem on the outskirts of Paris.
mony, and awarded study grants to promising
The easiest way to get there is also the most eco-
scholars in Europe and the United States.
nomical. For only $2 US and just 23 minutes from
He made it one of his missions to assemble a the heart of Paris, take Metro #10 to Boulogne
photographic record of the day-to-day life of all Pont de Saint-Cloud. The museum is just a three-
the cultures of Planet Earth. To that end, he and minute walk from the station. Buses and cabs are
Dutertre embarked upon another trip around the also available. Give yourself some time to explore
world in 1908, crossing the Atlantic by steamer the interactive photo exhibits indoors, and stroll
to New York, then boarding the new transconti- the sumptuous gardens outdoors. Guided tours of
nental railway to San Francisco. At Albert’s direc- the gardens are available. For a schedule of tours
tion, Alfred took some of the first color pictures and museum activities visit https://albert-kahn
of New York and the American West experiment- .hauts-de-seine.fr/ K.J.
ing with the new medium of autochrome color

154 WINE DINE & TRAVEL MAGAZINE SUMMER 2022