Ruth Orkin – The world in focus
Photographs taken between 1940 and 1960

October 18, 2026 to February 14, 2027

Ruth Orkin She was one of the professional female photographers of the 1940s and 1950s. Although she appeared in numerous newspapers and magazines, such as New York Times, Life or look published and her photographs became part of the legendary exhibition The Family of Man Although their work is in the MoMA, it is still not very well known internationally.

One of her most famous and important recordings is American Girl in Italy from 1951, which became a symbol of the women's movement of the 1960s and 1970s. The photographer produced reportage with biting humor: for example, she compares Who Works Harder? She contrasts the life of a housewife and mother with that of a career woman. She also photographs women in beauty salons and on film sets in Hollywood.

Ruth Orkin (1921–1985) began taking photographs at the age of ten. In 1939, she studied photojournalism at Los Angeles City College, and in the same year, she produced her first major photographic work. At the age of 17, she crossed the USA by bicycle with her camera on her way to the World's Fair, traveling from Los Angeles to New York. As a freelance photographer, she worked for, among others, the magazines Life, Look and Ladies' Home Journal.

Curated by Nadine Barth (@barthouseprojects) & Katharina Mouratidi (f³ – freiraum für fotografie); in cooperation with Ruth Orkin Photo ArchiveCurated for the LUDWIGGALERIE Schloss Oberhausen by Nina Dunkmann & Kerrin Postert