[Three Seated Men]
Artist
Ilse Bing
(American (born Germany), 1899 - 1998)
CultureAmerican | German
Date1936
MediumGelatin silver print
DimensionsOverall, Image: 8 × 11 1/4 in. (20.3 × 28.6 cm)
Overall, Mat: 16 1/16 × 20 in. (40.8 × 50.8 cm)
Overall, Mat: 16 1/16 × 20 in. (40.8 × 50.8 cm)
InscribedSigned lower left corner in black ink: Ilse Bing 1936
Credit LineGift of the Ilse Bing Estate
Object number2004.13.5
Not on view
Label TextIlse Bing
American (b. Germany, 1899-1998)
Three Seated Men, 1936
Dock Men, 1936
Street Signs, 1936
Gelatin-silver print
Gifts of the Ilse Bing Estate 2004.13.5, .14, & .6
Ilse Bing was among the first photographers to work exclusively with the small-format Leica camera. The portable, lightweight Leica gave her extraordinary mobility and flexibility as she worked. She described it as an "extension of my eye that moves with me; it lets me make things more alive."
Bing used her Leica to record the full range of urban life on her 1936 visit to New York City. From sidewalk card players and down-and-out "dock men" to crowded commercial thoroughfares, her clear-eyed reportage reveals her extraordinary skills as a photojournalist.
Exhibition History"Women of the Chrysler: a 400-Year Celebration of the Arts," Large Changing Gallery, Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, Va., March 24 - July 18, 2010.
