News
RUTH ORKIN: WOMEN ON THE MOVE
“This exhibition of 21 vintage photographs drawn from the museum’s collection of works by Ruth Orkin (b. 1921, Boston; d. 1985, New York City), explores women’s lives in the mid-20th century. The daughter of a film star, Orkin took glamour shots of Hollywood celebrities and also brought her camera into classrooms, homes, parks, and urban neighborhoods to capture a rich perspective on women who were forging new paths in postwar America.” — From the NMWA website
WASHINGTON, D.C., USA
National Museum of Women in the Arts (NMWA),
December 12, 2025 – March 29, 2026
RUTH ORKIN: THE ILLUSION OF TIME
Traveling exhibition throughout Europe organized and curated by Anne Morin, Director, di Chroma Photography
SANTANDER, SPAIN
Centro de Documentación de la Imagen de Santander (CDIS),
July 18 – October 18, 2025
CASCAIS, PORTUGAL
Centro Cultural de Cascais,
April 27 – July 7, 2024
BUDAPEST, HUNGARY
Mai Mano, October 11, 2023 – January 14, 2024
TORINO, ITALY
Musei Reali Torino, 3/18/23 – 7/15/23
SAN SEBASTIAN, SPAIN
Kutxa Kultur Artgeunea, San Sebastián, Spain, July 7, 2022 – November 6, 2022
BASSANO, ITALY Museo Civico di Bassano, December 18, 2021 – May 22, 2022
RUTH ORKIN: BIKE TRIP, USA, 1939
Exhibition organized by Clément Chéroux, director, Fondation HCB.
PARIS, FRANCE
Fondation Henri Cartier-Bresson (HCB)
September 19, 2023 – January 14, 2024
RUTH ORKIN: WOMEN
NÜRNBERG, GERMANY
Kunsthaus, Nürnberg,
October 3, 2025 – January 25, 2026
OSTRAVIA, CZECH REPUBLIC
Gallery of Fine Arts, Ostravia,
March 6, 2024 – May 12, 2024
BERLIN, GERMANY
Frierium, F3, Berlin, Germany,
December 5, 2023 – Feburary 18, 2024
Little Fugitive Selected by Wes Anderson for the Berlin Film Festival
The 2023 Berlin Film Festival unveiled the titles selected for its retrospective section, asking a number of international directors and actors (including Martin Scorsese and Tilda Swinton) to select their personal favorite film which explores the theme of “Coming of Age at the Movies.” Director Wes Anderson selected Little Fugitive, co-directed by Ruth Orkin, Morris Engel, and Ray Ashley. Orkin also edited the film, which won the Silver Lion at the Venice Film Festival in 1953.
The Story Behind Every Photograph...
Photographer Steve Sherman explores American Girl in Italy, recounting Paul Paletti’s (owner of the Paletti Gallery in Louisville, KY) love and fascination with the photograph and it’s story behind it after purchasing American Girl at Sotheby’s Auction House.
Ruth Orkin: In Motion Debuts at PhotoNOLA Festival
Curated by Natalie Cooney and Rebecca Rau, Ruth Orkin: In Motion highlights the cinematic quality of Orkin’s work. The opening reception, which also kicked off the annual festival/celebration of photography in New Orleans, PhotoNOLA, took place December 8th, 2022. Ruth Orkin: In Motion will be up through January 2022.
Reporter Elizabeth Kahn writes a thoughtful overview of Ruth’s life and accomplishments, beginning with her iconic cross-country bike trip at the young age of 17. Kahn delves into Orkin’s range of subject matter and lifelong passion for film…
B&H Photo’s Explora Blog: A Photographic Legacy from Ruth Orkin to Her Daughter
Photo District News editor and technical photography author Jill Waterman has just written a wonderful article about Ruth Orkin’s photo legacy over in the B&H Photo Explora Blog. The article entitled “Continuity of Purpose: A Photographic Legacy from Ruth Orkin to Her Daughter” explores the relationship between Ruth Orkin and ...
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Washington Post article – Photos Are Disappearing, One Archive At A Time
Without a clear plan, a photographer’s archive can become a burden rather than a legacy, leaving heirs — spouses, children or executors — to navigate complex decisions about storage, access and preservation. Ruth Orkin, best known for “American Girl in Italy” — a striking 1951 photograph of a young woman striding through a Florentine ...
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Review of new Photofile series book
Creative Inspiration A new book revisits Ruth Orkin’s theatrical photographs Known for her captivating photographs of city scenes and children at play, the late photographer is the centre of a book that illuminates the intersections between her different practices and influences By Daniel Milroy Maher 24/01/2024 Thames & Hudson has released ...
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The Woman in the Window in AIRMAIL 4/18/20
LINK https://airmail.news/issues/2020-4-18/the-woman-in-the-window BEST OF THE NEWS FROM ABROAD EVERY SATURDAY ARRIVING AT 6:00 AM APRIL 18 2020 Top, Ruth Orkin at work, leaning out the window of her Central Park West apartment, 1978; above, Sunlit Streets, NYC, 1977. Top, Philharmonic Concert, NYC, 1979; above, Start of First NYC Marathon, 1970. Top, Superman in Macys Parade, ...
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Ruth Orkin in group show at The National Gallery of Art
Photo copyright Ruth Orkin NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART THE CITY – opened February 20, 2020 American Art, 1900–1950: Prints, Drawings, and Photographs Towering skyscrapers, massive steel bridges, and the hubbub of city streets captivated artists working in the first half of the twentieth century. Roaming the rapidly changing urban environment, ...
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I Love the Upper West Side – April 2020
Nice mention of Ruth’s window photographs which were the subjects of two books A WORLD THROUGH MY WINDOW and MORE PICTURES FROM MY WINDOW. Ruth Orkin shooting from the window, 1978 copyright Jerry LaPlante ILOVETHEUPPERWESTSIDE.COM Looking Out With A Camera – I Love The Upper West Side In ordinary ...
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PROOF: Photography in the Age of the Contact Sheet
PROOF: PHOTOGRAPHY IN THE AGE OF THE CONTACT SHEET exhibition opened on February 7, 2020 at the Cleveland Art Museum. The exhibition includes Ruth Orkin’s American Girl in Italy proof sheet as an oversize wall graphic and in the exhibition, and Morris Engel’s sequence from “Little Fugitive”. www.clevelandart.org/exhibitions/
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Ruth Orkin in group show at the Tampa Museum of Art
Modern Women: Modern Vision Works from the Bank of America Collection On view February 20 through May 24, 2020 George Washington Bridge, Riverside Dr. & 179th Street, Manhattan, 1936 Berenice Abbott (American, 1898-1991), Gelatin silver print. 9 3/8 x 7 5/8 inches. Bank of America Collection. Since photography’s inception in ...
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Marion Anderson exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery
Marion Anderson exhibition from June 28, 2019 – May 17, 2020 at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, DC. “One Life: Marian Anderson” shifts the attention from Anderson’s historic 1939 performance on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial to under explored moments in the contralto’s career. The exhibition examines the ...
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Mary Engel in segment on WNYC – ALL OF IT 3/30/19
I was on the radio briefly today on WNYC’s “ALL OF IT” hosted by Allison Stewart, as they were doing a segment on women traveling alone. I called in to discuss Ruth’s travels and “American Girl in Italy”. I am on from 20:50 – ...
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Curated by Natalie Cooney and Rebecca Rau, Ruth Orkin: In Motion highlights the cinematic quality of Orkin’s work. The opening reception, which also kicked off the annual festival/celebration of photography in New Orleans, PhotoNOLA, took place December 8th, 2022. Ruth Orkin: In Motion will be up through January 2022.
Traveling exhibition throughout Europe organized and curated by Anne Morin, Director, di Chroma Photography
SANTANDER, SPAIN
Centro de Documentación de la Imagen de Santander (CDIS),
July 18 – October 18, 2025
CASCAIS, PORTUGAL
Centro Cultural de Cascais,
April 27 – July 7, 2024
BUDAPEST, HUNGARY
Mai Mano, October 11, 2023 – January 14, 2024
TORINO, ITALY
Musei Reali Torino, 3/18/23 – 7/15/23
SAN SEBASTIAN, SPAIN
Kutxa Kultur Artgeunea, San Sebastián, Spain, July 7, 2022 – November 6, 2022
BASSANO, ITALY Museo Civico di Bassano, December 18, 2021 – May 22, 2022