Ruth Orkin (1921-1985)
Albert Einstein at a Princeton Luncheon, 1953

Gelatin silver print, printed later, Estate facsimile signature stamp in the margin; signed, titled, dated by Mary Engel, Estate Executor, in pencil and Estate copyright credit reproduction limitation stamp on the verso.

image: 18 3/4 x 14 3/4in. (47.6 x 37.5cm.)
sheet: 20 x 16in. (50.8 x 40.6cm.)

Literature:

Orkin, A Photo Journal, Viking Press, 1981 p. 125; Engel & Gresh, Ruth Orkin: A Photo Spirit, Hatje Cantz, 2021, p. 197

This was taken while I was having lunch with Einstein and about one hundred men who had each contributed twenty-five thousand dollars to the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. After lunch I was to photograph him shaking hands with each of the men. As Einstein and a long line of men waited, I fumbled with my equipment while I changed film, an obvious bundle of nerves. Einstein was terribly sweet and kept saying, "Take it easy. Don't worry. We'll wait. Take your time!"

RUTH ORKIN

Neutral toned print on semi-gloss, double-weight paper wth margins. Extremely insubstantial handling dimple, lower right quadrant, barely visible in a raking light. Orkin's classic portrait, in excellent condition. Sold unframed.

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Laura Paterson

Director, Senior Specialist, Photographs

[email protected]312 280 1212

Ms. Paterson joined Hindman in 2022 and is a nearly 30-year veteran of the photography industry. She began her career in the Photographs Department at Christie’s in New York, and spent 20 years at the auction house becoming a Senior Specialist. Subsequently, she worked at Magnum Photos New York (a prestigious photojournalism collective founded by Robert Capa and Henri Cartier-Bresson in 1947) as US Cultural and Print Sales Director and Bonhams as Head of the Photographs Department. Ms. Paterson has extensive knowledge of photography from the 18th to 21st centuries, with a particular interest in works of the American West by Carleton Watkins and Ansel Adams.

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Ruth Orkin (1921-1985)Albert Einstein at a Princeton Luncheon, 1953

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Ruth Orkin (1921-1985)
Albert Einstein at a Princeton Luncheon, 1953