An American in Paris was inspired by Gershwin’s trips to Paris in the 1920s. As the composer said in Musical America, his purpose was to “portray the impressions of an American visitor in Paris as he strolls about the city, listens to various street noises, and absorbs the French atmosphere”.
In 1951, MGM’s musical An American in Paris, starrring Gene Kelly, would win six Academy Awards.
In recent years, after a gap of decades, there have been several stage versions of the musical.
Read about George Gershwin at Encyclopaedia Brittanica and at the Library of Congress.
First recording of An American in Paris
Themes from An American in Paris