A Bride for One Night: Talmud Tales
Photographer
Author
Book Genre
Photograph Title
An American Girl in Italy, Florence, 1951 (detail)
Notes
An American Girl in Italy is undoubtedly Ruth Orkin's best known photograph, and one of the most recognized of the early post-WWII era.
Despite it's 'fly on the wall' appearance, it is not quite a candid street photograph in the classic sense. Orkin was in Italy after having completed an assignment for Life magazine in Israel. By chance, she met Ninalee Craig at an American Express office in Florence. The two got to talking and discovered that they were staying in the same hotel.
Craig, a 23 year-old schoolteacher from New York, was traveling in Europe to broaden her horizons. She agreed to be a moving model for Orkin, walking through the streets, as Orkin photographed her and the reactions of those (men in particular) around her.
A Bride For One Night is author Ruth Calderon's interpretation of tales from the Talmud, a book of parables and teachings for Jews, written around 500 C.E.
One might see Orkin's image as a modern illustration of various Talmudic teachings regarding relations between the sexes.
To view an uncropped version of An American Girl in Italy, click here.
Despite it's 'fly on the wall' appearance, it is not quite a candid street photograph in the classic sense. Orkin was in Italy after having completed an assignment for Life magazine in Israel. By chance, she met Ninalee Craig at an American Express office in Florence. The two got to talking and discovered that they were staying in the same hotel.
Craig, a 23 year-old schoolteacher from New York, was traveling in Europe to broaden her horizons. She agreed to be a moving model for Orkin, walking through the streets, as Orkin photographed her and the reactions of those (men in particular) around her.
A Bride For One Night is author Ruth Calderon's interpretation of tales from the Talmud, a book of parables and teachings for Jews, written around 500 C.E.
One might see Orkin's image as a modern illustration of various Talmudic teachings regarding relations between the sexes.
To view an uncropped version of An American Girl in Italy, click here.
Photo Genre
Designer
Collection
Citation
“A Bride for One Night: Talmud Tales,” Covering Photography, accessed November 21, 2024, https://coveringphotography.bc.edu/items/show/6691.