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Home>Exhibitions>Past>2021>The New Woman Behind the Camera

# The New Woman Behind the Camera

Past Exhibition

## October 31, 2021 – January 30, 2022West Building, Ground Floor, West Outer Tier

The iconic New Woman—modern, independent, stylish, creative, and confident—was a revolutionary model for women across the globe. Featuring more than 120 international photographers, *The New Woman Behind the Camera* explores the diverse “new women” who embraced photography as a mode of professional and personal expression from the 1920s to the 1950s. This groundbreaking exhibition will reveal the significant impact women have had on the history of modern photography.

Video
Meet the New Woman
The New Woman was a global symbol of female empowerment based on real women making revolutionary changes in life and art. 
Watch Now

Exhibition
Overview
Women photographers around the world—from China, India, and Japan to North and South America, the Soviet Union, and throughout Europe—explored the creative possibilities of photography in the early 20th century, while also asserting their rights as independent artists and professionals.

Story
Queer Artists Grete Stern and Ellen Auerbach: ringl + pit
*Die Ringlpitis* documents the life and work of two queer artists through beautiful, witty, and sometimes irreverent mixed media art.

Blog
Meeting Tsuneko Sasamoto
Now 106 years old, Japanese photographer Tsuneko Sasamoto (above) is one of the “new women” in this exhibition. Curator Andrea Nelson shares her experience of traveling to Japan to meet the pioneering photojournalist.

Virtual Event
Global Perspectives on The New Woman Behind the Camera

The New Woman Behind the CameraAvailable Now

# Selected Works

Hildegard Rosenthal (Brazilian, born Switzerland, 1913–1990), *Street Scene, São Paulo*, c. 1940, printed later, gelatin silver print, Instituto Moreira Salles Collection, Hildegard Rosenthal / Acervo Instituto Moreira Salles

Claude Cahun (French, 1894–1954), *Self-Portrait*, c. 1927, gelatin silver print, Wilson Centre for Photography

Photographer unknown, *Homai Vyarawalla photographing Ganesh Chaturthi at Chowpatty Beach, Bombay*, late 1930s, printed later, inkjet print, Homai Vyarawalla Archive / The Alkazi Collection of Photography

Annemarie Heinrich (Argentine, born Germany, 1912–2005), *Serge Lifar, "The Spirit of the Rose,"* 1935, gelatin silver print, National Gallery of Art, Washington, Pepita Milmore Memorial Fund

Eiko Yamazawa (Japanese, 1899–1995), *Untitled (Yasue Yamamoto as Okichi in “Elegy for a Woman” by Yuzo Yamamoto)*, c. 1943–1944, gelatin silver print, Tomoka Aya, The Third Gallery Aya, © Yamazawa Eiko

Lola Álvarez Bravo (Mexican, 1903–1993), *In Her Own Prison*, c. 1950, gelatin silver print, Daniel Greenberg and Susan Steinhauser, © Center for Creative Photography, The University of Arizona Foundation

Edith Tudor-Hart (British, born Austria, 1908–1973), *Untitled (Street, London),* 1940s, printed later, gelatin silver print, Peter Suschitzky, Julia Donat, and Misha Donat

Lotte Jacobi (American, born Germany, 1896–1990), *Lieselotte Felger as “Die Wespentaille” in the Dance “Der Kreisel,” Berlin*, 1931, gelatin silver print, National Gallery of Art, Washington, Patrons' Permanent Fund

ringl + pit (Grete Stern [Argentine, born Germany, 1904–1999], Ellen Auerbach [American, born Germany, 1906–2004]), *Die Ringlpitis*, 1931, foldout page spread from bound volume of 6 photographs, 12 collages, 8 watercolors, 6 texts, and 1 drawing, National Gallery of Art, Washington, Alfred H. Moses and Fern M. Schad Fund, © ringl + pit, courtesy Robert Mann Gallery, New York

 

Yvonne Chevalier (French, 1899–1982), *Nude*, 1929, gelatin silver print, National Gallery of Art, Washington, Alfred H. Moses and Fern M. Schad Fund

Genevieve Naylor (American, 1915–1989), *São Januário Trolley*, early 1940s, gelatin silver print, National Gallery of Art, Washington, Alfred H. Moses and Fern M. Schad Fund

Lillian Bassman (American, 1917–2012), *Translucent Hat*, c. 1950, gelatin silver print, National Gallery of Art, Washington, Renee Harbers Liddell Fund and Alfred H. Moses and Fern M. Schad Fund, © Estate of Lillian Bassman

Caroline Whiting Fellows (American, 1905–1989), *Untitled*, 1930s, dye imbibition print, National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gift of Isabell VanMerlin

Frances McLaughlin-Gill (American, 1919–2014), *Untitled*, 1946, gelatin silver print, National Gallery of Art, Washington, R. K. Mellon Family Foundation, © The Estate of Frances McLaughlin-Gill, 2018

Rosalie Gwathmey (American, 1908–2001), *Tobacco Picker, Rocky Mount, North Carolina,* 1943, gelatin silver print, National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gift of Mary and Dan Solomon and Patrons' Permanent Fund

Esther Bubley (American, 1921–1998), *Young woman in the doorway of her room at a boardinghouse, Washington, DC*, 1943, gelatin silver print, National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gift of Kent and Marcia Minichiello

Lucy Ashjian (American, 1909–1993), *Savoy Dancers*, 1935–1943, gelatin silver print, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of Gregor Ashjian Preston, 2004 (2004.211.5), Image © The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Art Resource, NY

Anna Barna (Hungarian, 1901–1964), *Onlooker*, 1930s, gelatin silver print, National Gallery of Art, Washington, Robert B. Menschel and the Vital Projects Fund

Aenne Biermann (German, 1898–1933), *Untitled (Anthurium)*, 1927, gelatin silver print, National Gallery of Art, Washington, Alfred H. Moses and Fern M. Schad Fund

ringl + pit (Grete Stern [Argentine, born Germany, 1904–1999] and Ellen Auerbach [American, born Germany, 1906–2004]), *Pétrole Hahn*, 1931, gelatin silver print, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Ford Motor Company Collection, Gift of Ford Motor Company and John C. Waddell, 1987 (1987.1100.100), © ringl + pit, courtesy Robert Mann Gallery, New York, Image © The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Art Resource, NY

Dulce Carneiro (Brazilian, 1929–2018), *Woman*, c. 1957, gelatin silver print, National Gallery of Art, Washington, Robert B. Menschel and the Vital Projects Fund

Bernice Kolko (American, born Russia, 1905–1970), *Untitled*, c. 1944, gelatin silver print, National Gallery of Art, Washington, Alfred H. Moses and Fern M. Schad Fund, © FZLAC / Fundación Zúñiga Laborde A.C. (Mexico)

Kati Horna (Mexican, born Hungary, 1912–2000), *Stairway to the Cathedral*, 1938, gelatin silver print, National Gallery of Art, Washington, Alfred H. Moses and Fern M. Schad Fund, © Ana María Norah Horna Fernandez

Toni Frissell (American, 1907–1988), *Untitled (William A. Campbell and Thurston L. Gaines Jr., members of the 332nd Fighter Group in Ramitelli, Italy, March 1945)*, 1945, gelatin silver print, Toni Frissell Collection, Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress, Washington, DC

Galina Sanko (Russian, 1904–1981), *During an Attack*, 1943, printed c. 1960s, gelatin silver print, Robert Koch Gallery

Ruth Orkin (American, 1921–1985), *Ethel Waters, Carson McCullers, and Julie Harris at the Opening Night Party for "The Member of the Wedding," New York City*, 1950, gelatin silver print, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Purchase, Dorothy Levitt Beskind Gift, 1980 (1980.1006.1), © Ruth Orkin, Image © The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Art Resource, NY

**Organization**                        The exhibition is organized by the National Gallery of Art, Washington, in association with The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. 

The exhibition is curated by Andrea Nelson, associate curator in the department of photographs at the National Gallery of Art.

**Other venues** The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, July 2–October 3, 2021

**Sponsors** The Robert and Mercedes Eichholz Foundation has provided major support for this exhibition. The Trellis Fund also kindly provided a leadership gift.

Additional funding is provided by The Exhibition Circle of the National Gallery of Art and the Phillip and Edith Leonian Foundation.

**Passes** Admission is always free and passes are not required.

**Banner detail**: Lola Álvarez Bravo (Mexican, 1903–1993), *In Her Own Prison*, c. 1950, gelatin silver print, Daniel Greenberg and Susan Steinhauser, © Center for Creative Photography, The University of Arizona Foundation

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