The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 17, 2025

Photogram with Hand, Scissors and Owl Cut-Outs

1942, printed 1983

Ilse Bing

(American, 1899–1998)
America
gelatin silver print
Image: 34.2 x 26.4 cm (13 7/16 x 10 3/8 in.); Paper: 34.2 x 26.4 cm (13 7/16 x 10 3/8 in.); Mounted: 50.7 x 40.4 cm (19 15/16 x 15 7/8 in.)
Gift of Michael Mattis and Judith Hochberg 2020.300
© Estate of Ilse Bing
Location: Not on view

Did You Know?

A photogram is a photographic image made without a camera.

Description

Ilse Bing placed objects on photosensitive paper and exposed the grouping to light. Her hand and the scissors—the tools she used to create the impish forms—are self-referential symbols akin to earlier self-portraits that show her in the act of taking the photograph we see.
  • Estate of the Artist
    Michael Mattis and Judith Hochberg, Scarsdale, NY
    December 7, 2020
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Ilse Bing: Queen of the Leica. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (March 6-October 11, 2020).
  • {{cite web|title=Photogram with Hand, Scissors and Owl Cut-Outs|url=false|author=Ilse Bing|year=1942, printed 1983|access-date=17 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2020.300