Hailed by Ansel Adams as “the greatest photographer of the nude,” Ruth Bernhard is renowned for her evocative yet restrained nudes, elegant still lifes, and striking photographs of natural forms. Her work often reveals a subtle surrealist influence, seen in her ability to transform everyday objects into enigmatic and dreamlike compositions.

After studying art history and typography at the Berlin Academy of Art, Bernhard moved to New York in 1927, where she worked as a photographer’s assistant for a magazine. It was in California in 1935, after meeting Edward Weston, that she began to seriously pursue a career in photography. Inspired by Weston’s mastery of form and light, Bernhard embraced a meticulous approach to composition that defined her signature style.

In the 1940s, Bernhard joined the Group f/64, a collective of Modernist West Coast photographers that included Edward Weston, Ansel Adams, Minor White, Imogen Cunningham, and Dorothea Lange. Known for their dedication to sharp focus and natural beauty, this association further cemented Bernhard’s reputation as a formidable artist. By the time she relocated to San Francisco in the 1950s, she was already a well-established photographer.

From 1968 to 1976, Bernhard taught creative photography at the University of California, San Francisco, sharing her knowledge and philosophy with a new generation of photographers. She continued to lecture and lead workshops across the United States until her 95th birthday, demonstrating her enduring commitment to the medium.

Among her many accolades, Bernhard received the Dorothea Lange Award from the Oakland Art Museum in 1975 and a Certificate of Honor from the city of San Francisco in 1978. Her work is held in prestigious collections worldwide, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art in New York, and the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris, among others.