François-Marie Banier

FrançoisMarie Banier born 27 June 1947 is a French novelist playwright artist actor and photographer His published works include Le Passé Composé 1971 and Balthazar Fils de Famille 1985 Banier is particularly known for his photographs of celebrities and other public figures and for his friendships with members of high society In a prominent legal case in 2016 he was convicted of abuse of weakness of the elderly billionaire Liliane Bettencourt Banier was born on June 27 1947 in Paris France A second son he grew up in a middleclass family in the 16th arrondissement of Paris He has claimed he had been completely incomprehensible to his parents Although Banier was brought up as a Catholic his Hungarianborn father actual name Banyaï concealed the fact that he had converted from Judaism under the Nazi regime His father was an advertising executive who beat him for disobeying idiotic rules and this led him to attempt suicide at the age of 15 Despite his modest background from an early age he was a precocious and hyperactive talent who was able to develop friendships with some of Paris wealthiest arts patrons and artists At the age of 16 he met Salvador Dalí who would send his car to bring Banier to his suite at the Hotel Meurice to discuss art At the age of 19 he befriended the wealthy heiress and patron of the arts MarieLaure de Noailles who was then 64 By the time he was 20 Banier was working as the house press officer for Pierre Cardin While working at Cardin he began taking photographs and among his earliest subjects was novelist Truman Capote In 1969 Banier published his first novel Les Résidences secondaires ou la Vie distraite Second Homes or Distracted Life at the age of 22 Around the same time a wellknown Parisian designer and antique dealer Madeleine Castaing collected some of his photographs In 1971 Banier published his second novel Le Passé Composé During this period Banier was involved with interior designer Jacques Grange In 1972 fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent invited them to Marrakech for Easter where they met artist Andy Warhol In August 1972 The Sunday Times Magazine ran a cover story by James Fox titled FrançoisMarie BanierGolden Boy of Paris accompanied by photos of Banier around Paris by Eve Arnold When Jamess story came out I received thousands of letters from English boys Girls sent me pictures of themselves in the nude I received money in the mail Jamess article was cretinous It did me a disservice by missing the anxiety of my youth the difficulty I was experiencing as a young boy alone in front of life without family Banier said His third novel La Tête la Première Head First was published in 1972 In 1975 he wrote his first play Hôtel du Lac Baniers photographs were first exhibited at the Centre Pompidou in Paris in 1991 He has since exhibited his work internationally including at the Metropolitan Museum of Photography in Tokyo Museum Haus Lange in Krefeld and Villa Medici in Rome Source Article FrançoisMarie Banier from Wikipedia in English licensed under CCBYSA