Ruth Orkin Photograph Collection
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Abstract
The Ruth Orkin Photograph Collection spans the period from ca. 1950 to 1981 and contains photographs of New York City, primarily Central Park and the surrounding areas.
Biographical Note
Ruth Orkin is a photographer and filmmaker in New York City.
Scope and Content Note
The Ruth Orkin Photograph Collection spans the period from ca. 1950 to 1981 and contains photographs of New York City, primarily Central Park and the surrounding areas.
Photographs in this collection are part of a series taken from the window of Orkin's fifteenth floor apartment at 65 Central Park West, between 66th and 67th Streets in Manhattan; most were published at her books "A World through my Window," and "More Pictures from my Window." They take as their focus Central Park, particularly the Sheep Meadow, and the bordering skylines of Central Park South and Fifth Avenue. The color photographs show the park and its surroundings in various dramatic light, weather, and seasonal conditions, from the Tavern on the Green decorated with Christmas lights in a night view, to a distant shot of sunbathers and roller skaters gathered in the meadow in the heat of a summer day.
Most of the photographs in this collection were included in the exhibit "Manhattan Observed: Fourteen Photographers look at New York, 1972-1981," at the New-York Historical Society, from July 1981 through April 1982. The photographs, which were printed by G.W. Color Lab, New York, are signed, captioned, and in most cases dated by Orkin on both the front and the verso.
Subjects
Access Restrictions
Materials in this collection may be stored offsite. For more information on making arrangements to consult them, please visit www.nyhistory.org/library/visit.
Use Restrictions
Taking images of documents from the library collections for reference purposes by using hand-held cameras and in accordance with the library's photography guidelines is encouraged. As an alternative, patrons may request up to 20 images per day from staff.
Application to use images from this collection for publication should be made in writing to: Department of Rights and Reproductions, The New-York Historical Society, 170 Central Park West, New York, NY 10024-5194, rightsandrepro@nyhistory.org. Phone: (212) 873-3400 ext. 282.
Copyrights and other proprietary rights may subsist in individuals and entities other than the New-York Historical Society, in which case the patron is responsible for securing permission from those parties. For fuller information about rights and reproductions from N-YHS visit: https://www.nyhistory.org/about/rights-reproductions
Preferred Citation
This collection should be cited as Ruth Orkin Photograph Collection, PR 190, Department of Prints, Photographs, and Architectural Collections, The New-York Historical Society.
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Provenance
Gift of Ruth Orkin, 1982