Ruth Orkin | Palazzo Pallavicini

From March 5 to July 19 2026, Palazzo Pallavicini once again turns its attention to the female gaze in photography with a major retrospective exhibition dedicated to Ruth Orkin.

On display are 187 photographs, two cameras, and several important documents, aimed at reinforcing the crucial role that Orkin’s work holds in the history of photography. For the American artist, visual storytelling is built through a dynamic sequence of images, a characteristic evident in the fascinating Road Movie series, created in 1939 during her bicycle journey from Los Angeles to New York.

The influence of cinema is equally evident in the series From Above, in which Orkin observes and captures everyday life from a window, transforming the street into a spontaneous stage. The subjects, unaware of their role, become protagonists in a narrative marked by alternating movement and stillness, giving the story a magnetic fluidity.

Equally captivating are the portraits of famous figures such as Albert Einstein, Marlon Brando, Robert Capa, Alfred Hitchcock, Orson Welles: images that strikingly demonstrate her ability to portray people and settings with great immediacy and expressive power.

Today, the work of Ruth Orkin, recognized as one of the most important photojournalists of the twentieth century, is being rediscovered and reinterpreted through a new critical perspective, restoring full relevance and value to a body of work that has shaped the history of photography.