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61
BERNHARD, RUTH (1905- )
Doll. Silver print, 9 1/4x7 1/2 inches (23.5x19 cm.), with notations and a clipped credit and caption on verso. 1938
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Notes: Ruth Bernhard was born in Berlin and began her photographic studies at the Berlin Academy of Art. In 1927, she moved to New York and became a commercial photographer. On a trip to California in 1935 Bernhard met Edward Weston and was deeply influenced by his artistic vision and use of photography as an art form. Inspired by Weston's vision she moved to California to study with the photographer. She soon found that making a living was hard in Carmel and moved to Hollywood. There she opened a commercial portrait studio while doing her creative work on the side. Bernhard made her final move to San Francisco in 1957, and has worked there ever since.
Best known for her sensual nude images, Bernhard also explored other aspects of the world of photography. Her first personal photograph after meeting Weston was of a doll's head cradled in a woman's hand against a serene landscape. This image was the catalyst for Bernhard's move into creative photography, as well as her first use of abstract thought and surrealism. Bernhard used the doll throughout her life as a visual tool, and possibly as a reminder of her first adventures into the creative world of photography.
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February 17, 2004 12:00 AM EST
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