The Lumiere Brothers Photogallery Shows American Photographer "Ruth Orkin: Retrospective"

Written by Andrei Chekov Tuesday, 13 December 2011 21:45

Moscow.- The Lumiere Brothers Photogallery in Moscow is proud to present " Ruth Orkin : Retrospective", on view at the gallery until January 29th. The exhibition includes 50 photographs reflecting different milestones in Ruth Orkin's creative life. The 18-minute film "Ruth Orkin: Frames of Life" (1995, USA) dedicated to the life and work of the photographer (and including interviews with Cornell Capa and Mary Ellen Mark among others) will also be shown as part of the exhibition. The exhibition is organized jointly with her daughter Ruth Orkin, Mary Engel, and is a part of "American seasons in Russia", with bilateral support from the Russian-American Presidential Commission (Medvedev - Obama) and the U.S. Embassy in the Russian Federation.

Ruth Orkin (1921-1985) was the only child of silent film actress, Mary Ruby and the Russian toy-ship manufacturer Samuel Orkin. Ruth grew up in Hollywood, and was given her first camera at the age of 10. Two years later, Orkin had already started printing her photos. The girl was an avid collector of autographs, but by 17 years of age she was no longer interested in celebrity autographs, instead, she created their portraits. In 1943, Orkin moved to New York. First working as a photographer in a nightclub in the evenings and during the day producing portraits of children to raise the money to buy her first proessional camera.. By the end of 1940 Orkin was shooting for many major American publications of the time: "Life", "Look", "Horizon", "Ladies Home Journal", and had also been sent to cover the famous Tanglewood music festival, enabling her to add portraits of the great musicians of the time (including Leonard Bernstein , Isaac Stern, Aaron Copland, Sergei Koussevitzky and many others) to her portfolio.

In 1951, Orkin traveled to Italy and in Florence met with an American student in art school, Ninalee Craig (known at that time as Jinx Allen), who becomes the model in "American Girl in Italy", the most famous of Orkin's photos. This photograph, which was 60 years old on August 22nd this year, formed part of a series called "Don't be afraid to travel alone." On her return to New York, Orkin married photographer and filmmaker Morris Engel . Together they produced two feature films, one of which - "Little Fugitive" - was nominated for an Oscar in 1953. In 1959, Orkin, together with photo-stars as Dorothea Lange and Margaret Bourke-White was named one of "Ten Best Women Photographers United States." Ruth Orkin died of cancer in 1985.

The Lumiere Brothers Photogallery was founded in 2001 in Moscow and became the first private gallery in Russia devoted exclusively to fine art photography. It specializes in 20th century soviet photography, photo-journalism and fashion, in addition to representing works by Russian contemporary artists such as Vadim Gushchin and Vladimir Shakhlevich . The gallery works with the estates of Boris Ignatovich , Yakov Khalip , Alexander Greenberg , and Alexander Ustinov and is the exclusive representative for Lev Borodulin , Vladimir Lagrange and Naum Granovskiy . Located in a well-known exhibition space — the Central House of Artists - where the Vladimir Musaeljan prominent art events are held including Art Moscow and the Russian Antique Salons, the gallery actively exhibits and promotes the best pieces of photography on the Russian art market. The Gallery holds approximately nine exhibitions per year. Visit the gallery's website at ... http://www.lumiere.ru/

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