Evelyn Hofer
, German, 1922-2009
Title
Tinker Girl, Dublin, 1966Date2001
MediumGelatin silver print
Dimensions
Image: 39.3 x 31 cm
Sheet: 50 x 40 cm
Credit LinePurchased, 2019
Object numberNGI.2019.186
DescriptionGerman-American documentary and portrait photographer, Evelyn Hofer spent her early years studying photography, eventually landing a role working for Alexey Brodovitch of Harper's Bazaar when she moved to New York in 1946. Hofer used a four-by-five-inch view camera to make orderly and well-constructed portraits and scenic photographs. Hofer visited Dublin in 1966 to capture scenes of everyday life, which informed her book 'Dublin: A Portrait' (1967) made in collaboration with author V.S. Pritchett. In colour and black and white, her work depicts Ireland at the tipping point between an older, more conservative culture and the emerging modern world. Hofer is represented by 7 photographs of Dublin in the NGI collection.When Hofer visited Dublin, she was taken by the parks, bridges and houses that made up the city. However, she was also deeply interested in photographing the people and various communities that were natives of Dublin. Here, she photographs a young girl of the Traveller community, often referred to as gypsies or tinkers during this particular time in Ireland. Dressed in a striped overcoat and buttoned-up sweater and wrapped up in a large woollen blanket, the unnamed girl meets the gaze of the viewer with a rather serious expression. One senses a subtle vulnerability amidst the pride of her stare in the way she rubs her middle finger as if comforting herself.
ProvenancePurchased, Estate of Evelyn Hofer, through Galerie m, Bochum, Germany, 2019