Ilse Bing: Queen of the Leica
art2art celebrates the great woman photographer Ilse Bing (1899-1998) in an exhibition comprised entirely of her sumptuous and rare vintage prints. Born in Frankfurt, Bing studied math and art history before picking up a camera, decamping to France and launching a photographic career that would last three decades. “The instant I set foot in Paris, I knew I was in the atmosphere that suited me,” she wrote. “I breathed the very air of Paris and felt ready to flourish.”
Even before Cartier-Bresson, her camera of choice for its portability, speed, and ability to take 36 exposures was the miniature Leica; she was soon nicknamed the “Queen of the Leica.” Bing immersed herself in Paris’s cultural milieu, interacting with painters like Pavel Tchelitchev and the fashionistas Elsa Schiaparelli and Carmel Snow, who hired her to shoot for Harper’s Bazaar.
This exhibit perfectly captures the mood of 1930s Paris and is highlighted by a unique portfolio documenting the Can-Can dancers at the notorious Moulin Rouge, as well as Bing’s iconic Self-Portrait with Leica, 1931. Also featured is her evocative New York City work taken in 1936 during a trip to meet the gallerist Julien Levy.
Self-Portrait with Leica, 1931
Champ-de-Mars from the Eiffel Tower, 1931
Salut de Schiaparelli, 1934
Avenue du Maine, Paris 1932
Avenue du Maine, Paris (night view), 1932
Postillon, Paris, 1931
On the banks of the Seine, 1931
Puddle, rue de Valois, Paris, 1932
Quai along the Seine, 1932
Boarding-house for young women, Tours, 1935
Lanterns and Oriflammes, Bastille Day, Paris, 1933
Cancan dancers, Moulin Rouge, 1931
Men reading Yiddish theater posters, Jewish Quarter, Paris, 1932
Number of photographs:62
Rental fee: $6,950 for eight weeks plus shipping and insurance. Additional weeks are 10 percent per week.