Rosamond Bernier went to France in 1946 as Vogue features editor and stayed there for the next two decades, during which time she formed close and enduring friendships with many of the greatest painters of the 20th century, most particularly Matisse, Picasso and Miro. Reluctant though they were to reveal themselves to outsiders, Ms Bernier had their trust to a remarkable extent and each of them talked to her, as to few others, for hours at a time. From these conversations she gleaned not only a fund of personal and moving reminiscences, but also an understanding of the artists' work, lives and milieu. In this book, Ms Bernier captures the substance of these conversations, interweaving anecdote, description of each man's artistic concerns and photographs. She writes of her exploration of Barcelona with Miro as her guide, and her visit to Matisse when he explained to her, page by page, his illustrations of Mallarme's Poesies, as well as numerous other memories.