After documenting life in impoverished communities in Mexico, the United States, and her home country, Spain, Anna Bosch needed a break from misery.

She found it in Beirut, Lebanon.

That may sound odd, given that the city has been wracked by decades of civil war and conflict with Israel that has claimed thousands of lives and uprooted over a million more. Indeed, in Spain, Ms. Bosch said, “If you ask anyone what they know about Lebanon, they will say war, conflict and trouble.”

She sought out a less obvious story: How do Beirut’s elite live in a country that’s constantly on the brink of collapse?