COVER N. 742 - FRANCE

Postmark: Ron Agama J'aime la France du plus profond de mon coeur La Poste Paris 11.06.2026

Posted on the 11th June;  Received on the 25th June 2026

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Still going through the large pack of FDCs Eric sent me from Paris Philex.  Ron Agam. I confess my ignorance, but that's what stamps are good for: learning, discovering, enjoying. Un grand merci, Eric.

Ron Agam is a French-Israeli artist, born in Paris in 1958, who after working as an acknowledged photographer for quite a number of years, directed his creative vision to the world of Kinetic and Op Art, following on the footsteps of his father, Yaacov Agam (1928-2026), who was a well established name in this particular domain, which he helped to pioneer.

In recognition of his work, mainly photography at the time, being especially noteworthy a series of  photos  he took at ground zero on September 11, 2001, which are now part of the National September 11 Memorial & Museum permanent collection, Ron Agam was awarded by the French President the title of Chevalier of the Legion of Honor (Knight of the Legion of Honor) in 2008.

On 11JUN2026 La Poste issued a 2,25 €stamp designed by Ron Agam which replicates one of his lenticular works, in the form of a heart shape in the colours of the French Flag, with the bilingual legend  "J'aime la France du plus profond de mon coeur - I love France from the depth of my heart". The signature of the artist tops the heart shape.

The stamp is coated in a special varnish to create the illusion of movement characteristic of lenticular works, but although, upon examining the stamp with a magnifier, I can notice some illusion of depth, the lenticular effect is not that apparent.

The First Day Postmark issued at Paris is illustrated with what I suppose is a trademark of the artist: a woolly hat.  His signature and the legend that is on the stamp (in French only) are also present.