A Woman of the World is an exhibition of photographs by legendary American photographer Ruth Orkin, including unforgettable images of New York, Hollywood and Europe, taken during the 1940s, 50s and 60s.

The daughter of silent movie star Mary Ruby, Ruth Orkin grew up in the cinema-saturated Hollywood of the 1920s and 30s. The idea of telling a story through pictures became her lifelong passion, but instead of following in her mother's footsteps, her destiny lay on the other side of the camera. Ever hungry for new subjects, the eighteen year old budding photographer hit national headlines whilst making a solo bicycle trip from Los Angeles to the 1939 World's Fair in New York.

Determined to be involved in picture-making in some capacity, Orkin became the very first female messenger at MGM Studios, followed by a stint in the army where she hoped to be trained in film-making, before moving to New York where she worked as a nightclub photographer. Through perseverance she began working for the major journals of the day including Life, Look, This Week and The New York Times, producing remarkable images of leading figures including Leonard Bernstein, Hitchcock, Einstein, and Brando.

Many of her most memorable images, however, were not taken for assignments. A member of the humanist Photo League, she recorded post-depression New York with her characteristic warmth, investing inconsequential happenings - an embrace outside a movie theatre, a shoeless woman in the rain - with dignity and significance.

Orkin continued her travels throughout the 1950s, photographing extensively in Europe, and even lived for a time on a kibbutz in Israel. In 1951 she produced her defining image 'An American Girl in Italy', used to illustrate a Cosmopolitan feature urging its female readership, 'Don't Be Afraid To Travel Alone'. She continued energetically photographing, film-making, teaching and publishing until her death from cancer in 1985. Astonishingly, the work of Ruth Orkin remains little known in this country, despite worldwide acclaim. This is the first solo show of her work in the UK.

All work is available for purchase, from £500 ex. vat.

For more information, or to order prints,
contact printsales@tomblaugallery.com