Self-portrait with Leica
Artist
Ilse Bing
(German, 1899 - 1998)
Date1931
MediumGelatin silver print
DimensionsImage and sheet: 8 13/16 × 10 11/16 inches (22.38 × 27.15 cm)
Mount: 13 11/16 × 16 7/16 inches (34.77 × 41.75 cm)
Mount: 13 11/16 × 16 7/16 inches (34.77 × 41.75 cm)
Credit LineGift of Hallmark Cards, Inc.
Object number2005.27.3888
SignedOn mount recto, upper left, stamped in black ink with black pen: "FOTO / ISLE BING / 1931";
On image recto, lower left corner, in black pen: "ILSE / BING / 1931"
Inscribednone
Markingsnone
On View
Not on viewCollections
DescriptionImage of a young woman behind a camera which is mounted to a small tripod; her mirrored reflection is in the upper left corner next to a dark curtain. She's wearing a long-sleeved shirt with a large button at the cuff.Gallery LabelIn her inventive self-portrait, Ilse Bing challenges the viewer to discern reality from reflection. Through a clever use of mirrors, Bing positions herself to appear simultaneously from the front and in profile, looking through her trademark 35mm Leica camera. This lightweight, handheld device, introduced in the mid-1920s, revolutionized picture-making by enabling photographers to move freely and react spontaneously. Nicknamed “queen of the Leica” by a leading critic of the period, Bing distinguished herself through her innovative use of this device.
Hallmark Cards, Inc., Kansas City, MO;
Given by Hallmark Cards, Inc. to The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, 2005.
Given by Hallmark Cards, Inc. to The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, 2005.
Copyright© Estate of Ilse Bing, courtesy Edwynn Houk Gallery, N.Y.
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