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Lot 68
Ruth Orkin 
(1921-1985)
American Girl in Florence, Italy 1951
Sale 1131 - Photographs
Dec 6, 2022 1:00PM CT
Live / Chicago
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Estimate
$1,200 - 1,800
Price Realized
$1,750
Sold prices are inclusive of Buyer’s Premium
Lot Description
Ruth Orkin 
(1921-1985)
American Girl in Florence, Italy 1951

Gelatin silver print, printed later, facsimile signature blindstamp in the margin, signed, titled and dated by Mary Engel, Orkin Estate Executor, in pencil on the Estate copyright credit reproduction limitation stamp on the verso.

image: 12 1/2 x 19in. (31.7 x 48.2cm.)
sheet: 16 x 20in. (40.5 x 50.8cm.)
This lot is located in Chicago.

Literature:
Engel and Gresh, Ruth Orkin: A Photo Spirit, Hatje Cantz, 2021, back cover and pp. 134-135

Perhaps Orkin's best-known image, American Girl in Florence, Italy was taken during a European trip and published a year later as part of a Cosmopolitan photo essay, “When You Travel Alone…”, offering tips on “money, men and morals to see you through a gay trip and a safe one.”
Other examples of Orkin classics can be seen elsewhere in the sale – lots 8, 53, 55, 68 and 124.
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