Ruth Orkin: career timeline

American · 1921–1985 · Works grouped by the decade they were made (the cataloged date, or a date in the signature or title), not by sale date. 50 of 56 lots (89% of works) have a usable creation date; the others are listed at the end by the decade they were sold. Each work is shown once, even when it sold more than once.

Ruth Orkin: works at auction by decade the work was made. Each work counted once; medians use sold works only, in US dollars.

Decade made	Works	Sold	Median sold price	Main medium
1930s	2	2	$4.9kSign up	Photograph
1940s	8	3	$3.8kSign up	Photograph
1950s	32	25	$6.3kSign up	Photograph
1970s	6	6	$2.9kSign up	Photograph
1980s	1	1	$2.5kSign up	Photograph

Where does mine fit?

Enter what you know about a work by Ruth Orkin to see the closest recorded works from the same period, with their auction results. These are past records only, not a valuation: condition, authenticity, provenance and the market all change what a work brings. For an auction estimate of your work, get a free auction estimate.

Year madeHeight (in)Width (in)MediumSubject

1930s 2 works

Sold: 2 of 2
Median: $4.9kSign up
Average: $4.9kSign up
Typical size: 7.5 × 9.5 in (19 × 24 cm)
Mediums: Photograph (2)
Subjects: Landscapes (1)

1938 My bike shadow & me on a San Francisco Hill$7kSign up
1939 My Bike in San Francisco$2.8kSign up

1940s 8 works

Sold: 3 of 8
Median: $3.8kSign up
Average: $12.5kSign up
Typical size: 10 × 9 in (25 × 23 cm)
Mediums: Photograph (8)
Subjects: Figures & portraits (3), Markets & villages (1)

c. 1940 Tired Little Boy Outside Circus at Madison Square Garden$1.1kSign up
c. 1940 Fire Hydrant (mother and child)Unsold
c. 1940 Tired little boy after the circus$3.8kSign up
c. 1945 Woman Shaking Pebble from her Shoe, MOMA Garden, Gaston Lachaise sculpture, NYCUnsold
1947 The Card Players, New York City$32.8kSign up
1948 Selected Images of Ice SkatersUnsold
c. 1948 UntitledUnsold
1949 Young Married Couple, NYC (8th avenue and 14th street)Unsold

1950s 32 works

Sold: 25 of 32
Median: $6.3kSign up
Average: $9kSign up
Typical size: 12 × 15 in (31 × 38 cm)
Mediums: Photograph (32)
Subjects: Figures & portraits (23), Cattle & animals (2), Markets & villages (1)

c. 1950 Penn Station, New York$2.3kSign up
1951 American Girl in Italy$14.1kSign up
1951 American Girl in Italy, Florence$16.5kSign up
1951 American Girl in Italy, Florence, Italy$9.5kSign up
1951 Robert Capa at Magnum luncheon, Paris 1951$978Sign up
1951 Girl in Italy, Florence$6kSign up
1951 American Girl in Italy, Florence, Italy$15.2kSign up · sold 2×
1951 American Girl in Italy, Florence$9.7kSign up
1951 Watching Princess Margaret pass during Armistice Day ceremonies, London, NovemberUnsold
1951 American Girl in Italy, FlorenceUnsold
1951 American Girl in ItalyUnsold
1951 American Girl in Italy, Florence$15kSign up

Show 12 more (1950s)

1951 American girl in Italy, FlorenceUnsold
1951 American Girl in Italy, Florence$11.3kSign up
1951 American Girl in Italy, Florence$6.3kSign up
1951 American girl in Italy, Florence$3.4kSign up
1951 American Girl in Italy, Florence$12.5kSign up
1951 American Girl in Italy$15.3kSign up
1951 An American Girl in Italy, Florence$7.5kSign up
1951 American Girl in Italy$14.6kSign up
1951 American Girl in Italy$40.3kSign up
1952 Man in Rain, W. 88th St., N.Y.C.$3.4kSign up
1952 Man in Rain, W. 88th St.$4.4kSign up
1952 Man in Rain, West 88th Street, New York City$485Sign up

…and 8 more works from this group in the full results list.

1970s 6 works

Sold: 6 of 6
Median: $2.9kSign up
Average: $3.3kSign up
Typical size: 12.5 × 18.5 in (32 × 47 cm)
Mediums: Photograph (6)
Subjects: Cattle & animals (2)

1980s 1 work

Sold: 1 of 1
Median: $2.5kSign up
Average: $2.5kSign up
Typical size: 12 × 18.5 in (31 × 47 cm)
Mediums: Photograph (1)
Subjects: —

1981 Dark Clouds over 5th Ave., N.Y.C.$2.5kSign up

Creation date not recorded

6 works have no cataloged or signed date. They are grouped here by the decade they were last sold, which says nothing about when they were made.

Undated, sold in the 2010s 1 work

Sold: 1 of 1
Median: $7.5kSign up
Average: $7.5kSign up
Typical size: —
Mediums: Other (1)
Subjects: Figures & portraits (1)

sold 2019 American Girl in Italy$7.5kSign up

Undated, sold in the 2020s 5 works

Sold: 4 of 5
Median: $4.5kSign up
Average: $4.4kSign up
Typical size: 13.5 × 11 in (34 × 28 cm)
Mediums: Photograph (5)
Subjects: Figures & portraits (2), Sunsets & night (1)

sold 2020 Einstein at Princeton Luncheon$5kSign up
sold 2021 American Girl in Florence, Italy$3.9kSign up
sold 2023 Woody Allen at the Metropolitan Museum$630Sign up
sold 2025 American Girl in Italy, Florence$7.9kSign up
sold 2025 Sunrise Over the Tavern and Sheep MeadowResult not published

Medians and averages count sold works only (each work's most recent sale), in US dollars at the sale-date rate. Works cataloged as “attributed to”, “circle of” or similar are left out. All Ruth Orkin auction results →