Acquired directly from the artist’s estate by the present owner
Catalogue Essay
Ruth Orkin Born 1921, Boston Died 1985, New York 1940 Los Angeles City College
Selected museum exhibitions: Fondazione Stelline, Milan (2014); International Center of Photography, New York (1995); University of Akron, Ohio (1979); Milwaukee Center of Photography (1978); Nikon House, New York (1974) Selected honors: Certificate of Merit, Municipal Art Society of New York (1984); 1st Annual Manhattan Cultural Award, Photography (1980); One of Top Ten Women Photographers in the U.S., Professional Photographers of America (1959) Selected public collections: Brooklyn Museum; International Center of Photography, New York; Metropolitan Museum of Art; Museum of Modern Art; New-York Historical Society
Born in Boston, Ruth Orkin grew up in Hollywood because of her mother’s career as a silent film actress. She moved to New York City in 1943 and would achieve success as a freelance photographer, contributing to Look, Life, Ladies’ Home Journal and other magazines, and establishing herself as a portrait photographer. An American Girl in Italy, 1951, is Orkin’s most celebrated and iconic image and one of a series she took of Ninalee Craig, a fellow American traveler whom she met in Florence. Representing Craig walking down a street as men leer at her, this photograph typifies the concept of the male gaze.