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 Most exhibitions in: |
| Country |
№ |
| USA | 14 |
| France | 4 |
| Germany | 4 |
| Hungary | 2 |
| Most exhibitions held at: |
| Institution |
№ |
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Lee Gallery, USA |
3 |
Biography: 
1899 Born in Frankfurt am Main (DE)
Ilse Bing was born and educated in Frankfurt, and furthered her studies in math and art history at the Universities of Frankfurt and Vienna. For her dissertation topic, she chose the work of German architect Friedrich Gilly. During that time, she taught herself how to photograph for the purposes of her research. Eventually Bing bought a 35-mm Leica camera; new to the market of the mid-1920s, small, and easy to use. She would later become the only professional photographer in Paris to use this type of camera, hence her nickname, "Queen of the Leica"(Barrett, 9, 11).
In 1929 she photographed architecture and artists, reporting to Das Illustrierte Blatt, and was asked to develop a photoessay. Bing stayed with the newspaper through 1930. The experience provided her with the opportunity to develop her artistry and creative growth, while earning a modest income (Barrett, 11).
Though her pictures for Das Illustrierte Blatt were done on assignment, Bing insisted that they were really for herself. She only photographed things which "made a picture" to her, and was attracted to ordinary and incidental subject matter (Barrett, 13). At first she continued her doctoral work while her early career was blossoming, but then quit school in the summer of 1929. She had seen Van Gogh's Night Café on exhibition, and promptly decided she wanted a full-time career as a photographer. Her friends and family ostracized her, incredulous that a woman would choose the life of a lowly artist over obtaining her PhD. Bing, however, was too driven to consider any other path (Ibid).
Her move to Paris in 1930 was inspired by a modern photography exhibit which came to Frankfurt. Surrealism was flourishing in Paris, and "New Photography" was seen as an expression of the German avant-garde, which glorified the medium. At the time of Bing's emigration, photography in Paris was very innovative and uninhibited. She found that Paris suited her perfectly (Barrett, 18). At first, Bing worked for journalist Heinrich Guttman, who commissioned illustrations for his articles. She started submitting her photos to editors, and became widely published in leading French magazines and newspapers. Her work was exhibited frequently during the 1930s, and she used photojournalism to capture fleeting, unposed moments in everyday life (Barrett, 20-22).
Aside from her work in photojournalism, Bing's photographs from the Netherlands are a good reflection of other diverging trends in photography during the 1930s. Also taken during this period of her early career, some of her photographs are soft focus and have a pictorial style that was popular among artistic photographers and the amateur camera club movement. Other images reflect the trend away from pictorialism and towards modernism. Her modernist compositions emphasize abstractions and form, often from straight lines, sharp edges, and especially from man-made objects, as characterized by the trapezoid-like forms in "Play of Sounds,"1931. For other examples of Bing's modernist compositions, refer to Lee Gallery's Summer 2006 show, Ilse Bing: Early Work.
Bing would remain in Paris for ten years, but in the shadow of WWII, she and her husband immigrated to New York in 1941. There, she had to re-establish her reputation, and got steady work in portraiture. By 1947, Bing came to the realization that New York had revitalized her art. Her style was very different; the softness that characterized her work in the 1930s gave way to hard forms and clear lines, with a sense of harshness and isolation. This was indicative of how Bing's life and worldview had been changed by her move to New York and the war-related events of the 1940s (Barrett, 26-27).
For a short time in the 1950s, Bing experimented with color, but soon gave up photography altogether. She felt the medium was no longer adequate for her, and seemed to have tired of it. In the last few decades of her life, she wrote poetry, made drawings and collages, and occasionally incorporated bits of photos. She was interested in combining mathematics, words, and images (Barrett, 27). Though she had left the medium behind and was artistically talented in several ways, Bing's career as a photographer was successful and varied. Her work covered many genres, including photojournalism, architectural photography, theatrical photography, advertising, illustration, portraiture, and fashion (Barrett, 20). As a result, Bing was able to incorporate diverse influences into a distinctive personal style (Barrett, 9).
By Erin L. McGrath
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Photographers Encyclopedia International, 1839 to the present, A-K. Michele and Michel Auer. 1985. Editions Camera Obscura, Hermance, Switzerland.
Ilse Bing: Three Decades of Photography. Nancy C. Barrett. 1985. New Orleans Museum of Art.
Ilse Bing: Vision of a Century. 1998. Edwynn Houk Gallery.
Ilse Bing: Paris 1931-1952. Francoise Reynaud, Bernard de Montgolfier. 1987. Paris Musees, Musee Carnalvalet.
Ilse Bing, Canal and Bridge, Veere, Netherlands, 1931, silver print, ca. 1931, 8 3/4 x 11, $4500
10.3.1998 Died in New York City, NY (US)
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Public exhibitions 27
Solo shows 5
2007
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| Ilse Bing - Galerie Karsten Greve - Paris, Paris |
2006
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| Ilse Bing - Early Work - Lee Gallery, Winchester, MA |
2005
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| Ilse Bing - Galerie Karsten Greve - Cologne, Cologne |
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| Ilse Bing - Galerie Karsten Greve - Milano, Milan |
2000
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| Ilse Bing - A grand old lady´s vision - Galerie zur Stockeregg, Zurich |
Group shows 22
2009
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| Photography on Display: Modern Treasures - The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL |
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| Paris capitale photographique 1920-1940 - Galerie nationale du Jeu de Paume, Paris |
2008
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| La Nouvelle Photographie en France 1920-1940. Collection Christian Bouqueret - Galerie nationale du Jeu de Paume, Paris |
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| Soul and Body - Museum of Fine Arts - Budapest, Budapest |
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| Impressed by Light: British Photographs from Paper Negatives, 1840–1860 - The National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC |
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| Presumed Innocence: Photographic Perspectives of Children - DeCordova Museum, Lincoln, MA |
2007
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| Soul and Body - Museum of Fine Arts - Budapest, Budapest |
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| VIP - National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, ACT |
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| Paris in Transition - Photographs from the National Gallery of Art - The National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC |
2006
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| busy going crazy. the Sylvio Perlstein collection - La Maison Rouge, Paris |
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| My America: Art from The Jewish Museum Collection, 1900-1955 - Memorial Art Gallery of the University of Rochester, Rochester, NY |
2005
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| Andre Kertesz and the Paris Avant Garde - Edwynn Houk Gallery, New York City, NY |
2003
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| Working Nine to Five: Vintage Photographs of People at Work - Lee Gallery, Winchester, MA |
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| "Vintage Photographs of NYC from the 1930s and 1940s" - Lee Gallery, Winchester, MA |
2002
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| New York Observed: The Mythology of the City - UMMA - The University of Michigan Museum of Art, Ann Arbor, MI |
2000
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| x-mas Ausstellung - Galerie Lichtblick, Cologne |
1999
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| Modern Women - Dora Maar & Ilse Bing - Stephen Daiter Gallery, Chicago, IL |
1997
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| Images from the Machine Age - ICP - International Center of Photography, New York City, NY |
1995
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| A Child's World - Candace Dwan Gallery - Katonah, Katonah, NY |
1993
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| A Selection of Woks by Important Women Photographers of the 20th Cenury - ICP - International Center of Photography, New York City, NY |
| Dealer Directory 10 |
Germany
| | Galerie Lichtblick, Cologne
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| | Galerie Priska Pasquer, Cologne
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Switzerland
| | Galerie Karsten Greve - St. Moritz, St. Moritz
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USA
| | Robert Klein Gallery, Boston, MA
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| | Edwynn Houk Gallery, New York City, NY
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| | Charles A. Hartman Fine Art, Portland, CO
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| | Lee Gallery, Winchester, MA
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Public collections 5
Canada
| | National Gallery of Canada - Musée des beaux-arts du Canada, Ottawa, ON
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United Kingdom
| | Victoria and Albert Museum - V&A, London (England)
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USA
| | The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL
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| | Los Angeles County Museum of Art - LACMA, Los Angeles, CA
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| | San Francisco Museum of Modern Art - SFMOMA, San Francisco, CA
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Catalogs
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