Steve Carpenter - Grasse, wereldhoofdstad van het parfum - Côte d'Azur Frankrijk - 1950s

Tourist advertising poster dating from around 1960 by Steve Carpenter (signed 'Carpenter' at the bottom right) for Grasse, the world capital of perfume.
Print: La Lythotyp - Marseille on behalf of the Tourism Department of the city of Grasse.
Condition B+ >A: some minor creases in the edges. Image entirely intact. Fresh colors.
Shipping: rolled in a sturdy tube with track & trace.

The South of France city of Grasse, nestled between the Alps and the Mediterranean Sea, has been the world capital of perfume for nearly three centuries. The surrounding hills that descend to the sea are covered with flower fields, spreading the most subtle scents. In May, one of Grasse's jewels blooms: the Provence rose (rosa Centifolia), a flower originally from the Caucasus. During harvest, an explosion of scents is released, which can be found in many perfumes and floral waters. The area, influenced by the nearby mountains and the salty soil, gives these refined flowers unique shades. Violets and jasmine are also cultivated here, and can be found in the city's major perfumeries.

Steve Carpenter has pursued his passion for painting and teaching across the United States and Europe over the past four decades. A native of the Pacific Northwest, Steve moved to Rochester, N.Y., in the late '90s after a successful 30-year career in Monaco. Since 2002, he has operated the Steve Carpenter Gallery and Art Center, a school and gallery modeled after the European 'l'atelier de peintre,' in a renovated industrial building on Anderson Avenue in Rochester's Neighborhood of the Arts.