Portrait of Professor Martin Wolff America, 20th century

Portrait of Professor Martin Wolff

1935

Ilse Bing

(American, 1899–1998)

America, 20th century

gelatin silver print

Image: 28 x 22.2 cm (11 x 8 3/4 in.); Paper: 28 x 22.2 cm (11 x 8 3/4 in.); Matted: 50.8 x 40.6 cm (20 x 16 in.)

Gift of George Stephanopoulos 2011.234

Location: not on view

This artwork is known to be under copyright.

Description

While a portion of Bing’s income was derived from portrait commissions, this portrait and the one to its right were likely made for personal reasons. Martin Wolff (1872–1953) was a noted legal scholar who had been expelled from the faculty of the University of Berlin in 1934 because of his Jewish heritage and liberal views. His son, pianist and musicologist Konrad Wolff, met Bing in 1935, the year this picture was taken. They became engaged in 1936 and wed in 1937. The following year Martin Wolff immigrated to Britain, where he became a fellow at Oxford University.