Collection Online as of August 18, 2022
Tree
Ilse Bing
(American, 1899-1998)
Gelatin silver print
Image: 43 x 40.4 cm (16 15/16 x 15 7/8 in.); Paper: 50.4 x 40.4 cm (19 13/16 x 15 7/8 in.)
Gift of George Stephanopoulos 2014.525
© Estate of Ilse Bing
Location
not on view
Description
It is tempting to interpret this desiccated tree as foretelling Ilse Bing’s decision to give up photography in 1959 at age 60. “I had nothing more to say. . . . I did not want to repeat myself.” For three years she made films, but the medium was too costly. In 1962 she channeled her artistic energies into drawing, collage, and writing poetry. To earn a living, Bing became a dog groomer. After her art was rediscovered in the mid-1970s, she was able to enjoy two decades back in the art world spotlight. Bing died in New York City two weeks before a retrospective exhibition that was to open on her 99th birthday.
Ilse Bing
Ilse Bing (American, b. Germany, 1899-1998). Ilse Bing became interested in photography while pursuing a doctoral degree in art history at Frankfurt University. Around 1927-28 she began taking photographs to illustrate her dissertation and in 1930 decided to move to Paris to look for freelance assignments. Using the new 35mm Leica camera, she worked as a fashion, portrait, and architectural photographer, as well as a photojournalist. During her years in Paris she took part in numerous exhibitions, including the Museum of Modern Art's Photography 1839-1937 show in New York. In 1941 Bing and her husband immigrated to the United States, settling in New York City. In New York she began to work on a different scale, using the larger-format Rolleiflex camera as well as electronic flash. By 1957 she was working exclusively in color. Two years later Bing gave up photography to concentrate on painting and poetry.