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Shoes, for Harpers Bazaar

Photograph
1935 (made), 1988 (printed)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Ilse Bing (1899–1998) was one of several leading women photographers in the inter-war period. Born into a Jewish family in Frankfurt, she initially pursued an academic career. She taught herself photography to illustrate her own writing on the German Neo-classical architect Friedrich Gilly. In 1929 she bought herself a Leica camera and turned her attention to the new architecture being built around her home town of Frankfurt. The Dutch Modernist architect Mart Stam commissioned her to record several of his ambitious and radical building projects. Dizzy angles, flat plains and strong shadows were all part of a contemporary language of art and design pioneered by both the ‘New Photography’ and the new architecture.

In 1930 Bing moved to Paris to concentrate on photography. She was championed in the USA by the writer Willem Hendrik van Loon, who introduced her work to the editors of Harpers Bazaar magazine and the influential gallerist Julian Levy.

Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleShoes, for Harpers Bazaar (assigned by artist)
Materials and techniques
Gelatin-silver print
Brief description
'Shoes, for Harpers Bazaar', photograph by Ilse Bing, 1935, gelatin-silver print, printed 1988
Physical description
Black and white photograph of a pair of feet wearing silver or gold lame shoes under a pleated skirt against black background.
Dimensions
  • Sheet width: 35.1cm
  • Sheet height: 27.9cm
  • Image width: 34.2cm
  • Image height: 26.2cm
Style
Marks and inscriptions
  • 'Ilse Bing 1935' (reverse in pencil, written by Bing)
  • 'Harpers Bazaar' (reverse in pencil, Bing's hand)
  • 'pr 1988' (Reverse in pencil, Bing's hand)
Credit line
Bequeathed by Ilse Bing Wolff
Subjects depicted
Summary
Ilse Bing (1899–1998) was one of several leading women photographers in the inter-war period. Born into a Jewish family in Frankfurt, she initially pursued an academic career. She taught herself photography to illustrate her own writing on the German Neo-classical architect Friedrich Gilly. In 1929 she bought herself a Leica camera and turned her attention to the new architecture being built around her home town of Frankfurt. The Dutch Modernist architect Mart Stam commissioned her to record several of his ambitious and radical building projects. Dizzy angles, flat plains and strong shadows were all part of a contemporary language of art and design pioneered by both the ‘New Photography’ and the new architecture.

In 1930 Bing moved to Paris to concentrate on photography. She was championed in the USA by the writer Willem Hendrik van Loon, who introduced her work to the editors of Harpers Bazaar magazine and the influential gallerist Julian Levy.
Collection
Accession number
E.3033-2004

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Record createdAugust 4, 2004
Record URL
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