Andre Renoux was born in Oran, Algeria, in 1939, and when he died, much too young, in Paris in 2002, he was regarded as one of France's national treasures.

The "father" of the Paris School of Urban Realism, the most credentialed Urban Realist (and one of the most respected in Europe), Renoux was known as the peintre-poete (painter-poet) for the beauty of his images. At home in many cities, he made Paris uniquely his own, capturing its history and soul, its sounds, smells, tastes, and textures — just as you would find them in your own experience and imagination.