Ruth Bernhard (American, 1905–2006)

LOT ID: 49689

Two Forms, 1963

Silver Print, gelatin silver print

13.5 х 10.75 in. (34.29 x 27.3 cm.)

Signed, in pencil on recto of mount below image. Titled, dated and signed by artist in pencil on verso of mount.

Print/Casting Year ie. circa 1970

Lot description

Image size is 13.5 x 10.75 inches (34.3 x 27.3 cm); mount size is 20 x 16 inches (50.8 x 40.6 cm). Printed late 1970s. Excellent condition.

Ruth Bernhard (American, 1905–2006) was a Berlin-born American photographer. She studied at the Berlin Academy of Art from 1925 until 1927, before joining her father, designer and typographer Lucian Bernhard, in New York, NY. She took on commercial jobs including an internship working under Ralph Steiner with the magazine The Delineator, in order to cover the expenses of acquiring her own photographic equipment. In 1935, she met Edward Weston, and became deeply inspired by his work. He became her mentor, under whom she studied for years. Becoming a part of the Modernist West Coast Photographers movement, she joined Weston, Ansel Adams, Minor White, Imogen Cunningham, Wynn Bullock, and Dorothea Lange in the f/64 group. She primarily photographed in her studio and in black-and-white, making compositions of still lifes and dramatically lit nude figures. Although she is most often recognized for her photographs of nude women, Bernhard’s main aspirations revolved around the formal discipline of creating abstract shapes and sculptural masses using composition, light, and shadow. One of her most famous pieces is Two Forms (1962), in which the bodies of two women are pressed against each other. Bernhard lectured and taught master classes at universities throughout the United States and published several books of her work. Bernhard’s photographs are held by the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, CA, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, NY, the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston, TX, and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, among others.

Literature and Catalogue Raisonné
Literature and Catalogue Raisonné
Condition Report
Condition Report
No condition report has been added for this lot. Please contact the specialist for further information.
History and Provenance
History and Provenance
Shipping Information
Shipping Information
Shipping Carrier:
tbd

Shipping Weight: 3 lbs

Framing: No

Item Location: California, USA

Shipping Options:
Shipping weight is approximate, buyer pays shipping, handling, and insurance and all applicable taxes and duties. Work will be shipped upon receipt of payment in full.
Payment and Return Policies
Payment and Return Policies
Accepted:
Check, PayPal

artnet Assurance Policy:
Every artnet Auctions seller has been approved by artnet after a thorough review. All of our sellers are required to accept the following artnet policy: A buyer may return an item purchased through artnet Online Auctions, if the item received is not as described in its listing, or is found to be not authentic.
Please see our full Return Policy for details.

Purchase Now

You are purchasing this lot for US$.*

Click Continue to place your order.

*The purchase now price excludes taxes (if applicable) and a 20% buyer's premium on all lots under US$250,000 and a 10% buyer's premium on all lots with a winning bid or purchase now price of US$250,000 or above.

Purchase Now

Congratulations, you have purchased a lot on artnet Auctions!

Proceed to Items Won >

SmartBid

CONFIRMATION

The artnet SmartBid Service will automatically bid on your behalf up to US$.

artnet SmartBid will immediately meet the reserve price if your maximum bid is over the reserve. If the lot does not have a reserve price, it will immediately bid to the next increment level.

artnet SmartBid will then raise your bid up to your maximum bid by increment. But it will never raise your bid above the reserve price unless other bidders placed competitive bids on the lot.

Click Bid Now to place your bid.

SmartBid

Enter your maximum bid below. It must be US$ or higher:

Maximum bid: US$

*The maximum bid excludes taxes (if applicable) and a 20% buyer's premium on all lots with a winning bid under US$250,000 and a 10% buyer's premium on all lots with a winning bid or purchase now price of US$250,000 or above.

How does bidding work?