Bouzigues Remembered - STEVEN R. TABOR

Bouzigues Remembered
the slides of A.J. de Lorm

What makes a home away from home?

"The best way to make your dreams come true is to wake up"
--Paul Valéry

In the summer of 1955, A.J. de Lorm brought his wife and family to Sete to spend the summer at the house of Viva and Franc, the sister-in-law of the painter Desnoyer, named l'Hippodrome. Each day the family would eat an elaborate lunch at a restaurant which served artists in the South of France, "Chez Attila et Germaine". The children, under the watchful eye of their nanny, would play at the beach; his wife Eliza would paint; and he would explore local villages and markets. In the sixties the family searched for a house in the region that they could afford to buy. They found and bought a house in a small fishing village, Bouzigues, in 1964. The front of the houses was the old village bakery from the 16th century and the back part a ruin, which they later turned into an open-air terrace. Bouzigues, with about 700 inhabitants at the time, was a small fishing village across the lake from Sete. A year later, the house next door to theirs became available, and they bought that as well and connected the two houses.

Each summer, the de Lorm’s would pack their cars with the five children, and sometimes their friends, and head off from Arnhem to the South of France for the summer. Friends and relatives would often come to visit, and they would go for trips in the region and into Spain. During three summers Eliza went for two weeks and stayed in a hotel to paint the harbors of Bretagne.

Bouzigues became their home away from home. A.J. de Lorm would shop in the local markets and cook two hot meals each day for everyone. He became a member of the local wine cooperative, and would bring three liter bottles from Holland that he would fill with wine at the village wine coop. He explored nearby villages, took small trips in the region, and was a fan of the local gypsy markets. He enjoyed giving slide shows, and would share images of Bouzigues with friends and family back in Holland.

If you'd like to see the full series, download the PDF catalogue here.