Signed Ruth Orkin Photo "American Girl in Italy" (1951)

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Exceptional Antiquities Ethnographica Fine Ar...

By Artemis Gallery

Jul 14, 2022

Set Reminder 2022-07-14 10:00:00 2022-07-14 10:00:00 America/New_York Bidsquare Bidsquare : Exceptional Antiquities Ethnographica Fine Art https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/artemis-gallery/exceptional-antiquities-ethnographica-fine-art-9692
Museum-worthy examples of classical antiquities (Egyptian, Greek, Roman, Near Eastern), Viking, Far East / Asian, Pre-Columbian, African / Tribal, Oceanic, Native American, Spanish Colonial, Fossils, Ancient Jewelry, Fine / Visual Arts, so much more! Artemis Gallery info@artemisgallery.com

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• Lot Description
  Ruth Orkin (American, 1921-1985). "American Girl in Italy" photograph, 1951. Hand-signed on lower right. Following an assignment for LIFE magazine in Israel with the Israeli Philharmonic, Ruth Orkin traveled to Italy where she met the subject of this photo, Nina Lee Craig, in Florence. Nina was an American art student, the two women became friends, and this piece was part of Orkin's series entitled "Don't Be Afraid to Travel Alone" featuring images of what women traveling solo in Europe experienced. In this photo, Orkin presents the 23 year old Craig, as she quickly strolls past a group of gawking men on the sidewalk, all the while gripping her handbag and shawl. This iconic photo has raised many questions over the years. Was it staged? Was Craig breezing by those men, because she felt threatened or was she oblivious to their ogling? For some interesting answers and more history about this iconic photo, please read the extended description below. Size of image: 8.125" L x 12.125" W (20.6 cm x 30.8 cm) Size w/ border: 11.125" L x 14" W (28.3 cm x 35.6 cm) Size of matte: 15.875" L x 19.875" W (40.3 cm x 50.5 cm)
  
  According to a recent CNN interview, Nina Lee Craig insisted that the iconic photo was not staged and that she did not feel threatened by the men around her. Rather, Craig and Orkin's daugher Mary Engel agreed that the photo was intended to represent "independence, freedom, and self-determinations." Orkin was conducting a photo shoot of their adventures, showing people what it was like for women to travel alone in Europe. They shot for 2 hours in Italy, parted ways, and reconnected in Paris and Venice, taking more photos. The series appeared in Cosmopolitan magazine in 1952 in a photo essay entitled, "When You Travel Alone…" The caption for "American Girl in Italy" was as follows: "Public admiration … shouldn't fluster you. Ogling the ladies is a popular, harmless and flattering pastime you'll run into in many foreign countries. The gentlemen are usually louder and more demonstrative than American men, but they mean no harm." Of course, today many will have a different interpretation, and the photo may inspire discussions about harassment and feminism; however, during its time, Orkin and Craig believed they were challenging gender roles. According to Craig, "I look at it and I'm taken right back and it was wonderful. I was an art student. I was carefree. I was 23 and the world was my oyster." Craig and Orkin were kindred spirits who became lifelong friends. (Source: "The real story behind 'An American Girl in Italy'" by Emanuella Grinberg, CNN, March 30, 2017)
  
  According to the Ruth Orkin Photo Archive, "Ruth Orkin was an award-winning photojournalist and filmmaker. Orkin was the only child of Mary Ruby, a silent-film actress, and Samuel Orkin, a manufacturer of toy boats called Orkin Craft. She grew up in Hollywood in the heyday of the 1920s and 1930s. At the age of 10, she received her first camera, a 39 cent Univex. She began by photographing her friends and teachers at school. At 17 years old she took a monumental bicycle trip across the United States from Los Angeles to New York City to see the 1939 World's Fair, and she photographed along the way.
  
  Orkin moved to New York in 1943, where she worked as a nightclub photographer and shot baby pictures by day to buy her first professional camera. She worked for all the major magazines in 1940s, and also went to Tanglewood during the summers to shoot rehearsals. She ended up with many of the worlds' greatest musicians of the time including Leonard Bernstein, Isaac Stern, Aaron Copland, Jascha Heifitz, Serge Koussevitzky and many others.
  
  In 1951, LIFE magazine sent her to Israel with the Israeli Philharmonic. Orkin then went to Italy, and it was in Florence where she met Nina Lee Craig, an art student and fellow American, who became the subject of 'American Girl in Italy.' The photograph was part of a series originally titled 'Don't Be Afraid to Travel Alone' about what they encountered as women traveling alone in Europe after the war.
  
  On her return to New York, Orkin married the photographer and filmmaker Morris Engel. Together they produced two feature films, including the classic 'Little Fugitive' which was nominated for an Academy Award in 1953. From their New York apartment overlooking Central Park, Orkin photographed marathons, parades, concerts, demonstrations, and the beauty of the changing seasons. These photographs were the subject of two widely acclaimed books, 'A World Through My Window' and 'More Pictures From My Window.' After a long struggle with cancer, Orkin passed away in her apartment, surrounded by her wonderful legacy of photographs with the view of Central Park outside her window."
  
  For more about this photo, read "Ruth Orkin, American Girl in Italy, The Making of a Classic" (2005).
  
  This photograph was in the collection of pioneering patron of the arts, Ginny Williams. Sotheby's hosted a series of auctions featuring art and photography in the Ginny Williams Collection in June and July of 2020. Their press release began as follows, "Born in rural Virginia in 1927, Ginny moved to Denver, Colorado in the late 1950s with her husband, Carl Williams. An avid photographer herself, who studied with Austrian-American photojournalist and photographer Ernst Haas, her collecting journey began with classical figurative photography. Her passion and keen eye eventually prompted her to open her namesake gallery in Denver in the 1980s. While her passion for photography never waned, remaining a primary focus of both her gallery and private collection, her voracious curiosity quickly widened her curatorial focus. Over time, Ginny became increasingly courageous and experimental in her selections, venturing into Abstract Expressionism and Contemporary Art and following her artists themselves through gallery shows and museum exhibitions. As the years passed, Ginny became as much of a trailblazer as the artists she collected."
  
  Provenance: private Idledale, Colorado, USA collection; ex-Ginny Williams collection of Denver, Colorado
  
  All items legal to buy/sell under U.S. Statute covering cultural patrimony Code 2600, CHAPTER 14, and are guaranteed to be as described or your money back.
  
  A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany all winning bids.
  
  PLEASE NOTE: Due to recent increases of shipments being seized by Australian & German customs (even for items with pre-UNESCO provenance), we will no longer ship most antiquities and ancient Chinese art to Australia & Germany. For categories of items that are acceptable to ship to Australia or Germany, please contact us directly or work with your local customs brokerage firm.
  
  Display stands not described as included/custom in the item description are for photography purposes only and will not be included with the item upon shipping.
  
  #171270

  Condition

  Photo is hand signed by the photographer on the lower right margin. The image is vivid and strong. It is set in a protective matte.
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