WELLESLEY, MASS.- The Worlds of Ilse Bing spotlights the prominent photographer’s career from her early days in Frankfurt, Germany to Paris and then onto New York City. For almost 100 years, Bing (1899-1998) distinguished herself in a world where photography was mostly male-dominated and coming into its own as an art form ideally suited to represent modern, urban life. The exhibition of her remarkable career at the Davis Museum at Wellesley College opens September 19 and runs through December 14, 2025 and again from February 6, 2026 through May 24, 2026.

Featuring a recent gift of vintage photographs by Bing from acclaimed musician and Wellesley College alumna Suzanne Ciani (Class of 1968), the exhibition explores the development of the photographic medium in the mid-twentieth century. The era in which Bing came to prominence saw the birth of the journalistic photo-essay, the launch of the 35-mm Leica camera in 1925, and experiments with abstract photograms and solarization.

Artists led critical debates over how photography should remain true to itself as a medium of and for the modern world. From Frankfurt to Paris to New York City, Bing was at the center of it all, carving out a place for herself as “Queen of the Leica” in a male-dominated world of image making.


Ilse Bing, Sun in Clouds Over Swiss Mountains, 1929, Gelatin silver print, Gift of Suzanne Ciani (Class of 1968) 2018.272. © Estate of Ilse Bing.

The Worlds of Ilse Bing is organized geographically according to the three cities where Bing lived, placing her work in conversation with the artists who made up her creative worlds and providing insight into her influences, process, and undeniable impact on others as they pushed the boundaries of modern art.

“Ilse Bing played a key role in pushing the visual language of photography in new directions in the 20th century. She was unique in her total commitment to the Leica camera for all her creative pursuits, from fashion to portraiture to street photography, proving that the small film and lightweight camera was ideal for capturing enigmatic moments from everyday life. I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to reflect on Bing’s career in 2025 on the 100th anniversary of the launch of the first Leica,” said Dr. Carrie Cushman, the exhibition’s curator and Director of the Bates College Museum of Art. She is also the former Linda Wyatt Gruber ‘66 Curatorial Fellow in Photography at the Davis Museum. The exhibition is supported with funds given through the generosity of Linda Wyatt Gruber (Class of 1966).