Ruth Orkin
Couple, New York

Couple, New York

© Ruth Orkin Photo Archive

Couple, New York
Couple, New York
ArtistAmerican, 1921–1985
CultureAmerican
Titles
  • Couple, New York
Datec. 1945
PlaceNew York, New York, United States
MediumGelatin silver print
DimensionsImage/Sheet: 7 5/16 × 9 5/16 in. (18.6 × 23.7 cm)
Credit LineMuseum purchase funded by the Caroline Wiess Law Accessions Endowment Fund, The Manfred Heiting Collection
Object number2002.2891
Not on view

Explore Further

Department
Photography
Object Type
Description

At the age of 17, Ruth Orkin embarked on a monumental bicycle trip from her home in Hollywood to see the 1939 World’s Fair in New York City, taking photographs along the way. She moved to New York a few years later, shooting baby pictures by day and nightclubs by night until making her foray into the major magazines in the 1940s and 1950s. Throughout her career, Orkin made photographs of the street looking down from windows above, capturing pedestrians and parades passing by, a collection of which she later published in a book called A World through My Window.


The powerful simplicity of this image lies in its composition: as the couple crossed her frame—obscured in a slight blur of motion—Orkin waited until the man strode across the perfect intersection of the sidewalk lines to take her shot, the square grid forming a neutral backdrop for the dark figures, interrupted only by the smattering of bubblegum spots.


Provenanceartist estate; Galerie Stockeregg, Zürich; bought by Manfred Heiting from Galerie Zur Stockeregg, 6/16/1995
Exhibition HistoryExhibited in, "New York, New York: Photographs from the Manfred Heiting Collection", at the Museum of Fine Arts Houston from October 8 - March 9, 2003.
Inscriptions, Signatures and Marks
signed, in blue ink, titled, in pencil, photographer's New York stamp, in black ink, on verso of print;

Cataloguing data may change with further research.

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