Robert Doisneau was born in 1912 in Gentilly in the Val-de-Marne, France. He studied engraving at the École Estienne in Chantilly, and later learned photography in the advertising department of a pharmaceutical firm. Doisneau worked for the Rapho photo agency for several months until he was drafted in 1939. He was a member of the Résistance both as a soldier and as a photographer, using his engraving skills to forge passports and identification papers. He photographed the Occupation and Liberation of Paris.

Immediately after the war he returned to freelance work for LIFE magazineand other leading international magazines. Doisneau’s most famous image, “Le Baiser de L’Hôtel de Ville” (The Kiss), was taken for LIFE in Paris and would remain at the center of a legal and financial dispute which lasted years. Against his inclinations, Doisneau also briefly photographed high-society and fashion for VOGUE Paris from 1948 to 1951. In addition to his reportage, he has photographed many artists including Alberto Giacometti, Jean Cocteau, Fernand Léger, Georges Braque, and Pablo Picasso.

Robert Doisneau won the Le Prix Kodak in 1947. He was awarded the Prix Niépce in 1956 and acted as a consultant to Expo '67, Canada. A short film, “Le Paris de Robert Doisneau”, was made in 1973. Doisneau was awarded Chevelier of the Légion d’Honneur in 1984, and resided in Paris until his death in 1994.