The story behind the iconic ‘American Girl in Italy’ by Ruth Orkin

[Copyright 1952, 1980 Ruth Orkin]

Susan Spano’s Postcards From Rome

Here’s a little holiday gift for readers of “Postcards from Rome” in the form of Ruth Orkin’s iconic photo “American Girl in Italy.”

Orkin was born in Hollywood, got her first camera at the age of 12. She later specialized in photographing classical composers and musicians.

She shot “American Girl” in Florence in 1951 as part of a picture story entitled “Don’t Be Afraid to Travel Alone.”

Orkin saw Jinx Allen, the young art student in the photo, walking down the street, being ogled by men.

So she pulled out her camera and asked Allen to do it again, resulting in a picture too perfect for words.

Special thanks go to Mary Engel, the photographer’s daughter and director of the Ruth Orkin Photo Archive, for letting us run this picture.

– Susan Spano, L.A. Times staff writer

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This entry was posted on Thursday, December 25, 2008 at 12:55 pm by Susan Spano and is filed under Europe, Italy, Travel Photography. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.