Ruth Bernhard. Experiments in Design
Lifesavers, an image created in 1930, is considered Ruth Bernhard’s first real photograph.1 Jobless at the time, she purchased a bundle of small objects from a dime store to experiment with in still-life arrangements, staying up all night lighting and photographing them. Taking cues from her father’s textile designs, she imagined her photograph of the ring-shaped candies could be used as a fabric pattern. But she found her own modernist style, combining the drama of light and shadow influenced by German art history and the patterns inspired by Manhattan’s busy street traffic. To Bernhard’s surprise, Advertising Arts magazine published Lifesavers in its January 1931 issue, and she became in demand as a designer’s photographer. Working for designers like Henry Dreyfuss and architect Frederick Kiesler, Bernhard found herself in the middle of the modern design movement.2