Great Spruce Head Island

The German-born photographer Ellen Auerbach (b. Rosenberg) cofounded the highly successful Berlin-based graphic design and photography studio ringl + pit alongside friend and collaborator Grete Stern. The studio, named for the women’s childhood nicknames, provided Auerbach an opportunity to explore her creativity though photography and to secure her financial and social independence. Active from 1930 to 1933, the studio came to a premature end when Auerbach and Stern were compelled to leave Germany. After a brief period spent in Palestine, where she worked as a photographer and filmmaker, Auerbach married and immigrated to the United States, settling first in Philadelphia and later in New York. There, Auerbach found work as a portrait photographer, later switching careers to work as an educational therapist.