Torso Rabinovitch, Ben Magid  (American, 1884–1964)

Identified as ‘Ravgravures’ they appears to be high quality hand-photogravures made from Ravinovitch’s photographs.

Ben Magid Rabinovitch (1884-1964) was a photographer, gallery owner, and founder of the Studio Gallery Photography School, later the Rabinovitch Photography Workshop. Born in the Ukraine, his family brought him to New York in 1887. Prior to the First World War he worked as an accountant. He served in the American Army during the conflict and upon his return, took up photography.

Rabinovitch experimented with various photographic media, including bromoil prints, but became an adamant opponent of "mixed" and "controlled" photography. In 1920 he opened "The Studio School of Art Photography" at his studio and gallery, billed as "a small personal school . . . for those who see differently." The school was one of the three important New York photographic academies during the inter war years, and continued to be an important presence with a definable style until the mid 1950s. He also wrote a brief instructional monograph, How To Learn Photography, that remained in print during his lifetime.