Paris in Winter: An Illustrated Memoir

About this book

Paris in Winter combines fanciful ink and watercolor drawings by American artist and writer David Coggins with charming vignettes about his familys annual New Years sojourns to Paris which because of their unending love for the city theyve been taking together for almost 20 years. This memoir of poetic lighthearted stories highlights the familys passion for art and food fashion and social life. Family rituals--from having lunch each January at the delightful Le Grand Vefour to haunting favorite antique shops and seeking out-of-the-ordinary spots like a little known garden or a gypsy circus--are interspersed with serendipitous moments: hearing Bono sing "Happy Birthday" to a friend in a bistro adopting an abandoned lap dog and the simple pleasures of Parisian street life. Cogginss delicate and intimate drawings capture classic Parisian scenes as well as family and friends against the backdrop of the elegant City of Light under the cloak of winter. Across cafes and hotels apartments and galleries the family mixes with a lively group of Parisian and international actors designers writers and students. Furthermore Coggins weaves in fascinating bits of the citys history and artistic lore from Victor Hugos interior designs to the painting that legend has it started Impressionism to delight Francophiles all over.