RINGL AND PIT explores the lives and times of emigré photographers Grete Stern (b. 1904) and Ellen Auerbach (1906-2004) - from their early days together as the "ringl + pit" studio in Weimar Germany to their then-current activities spanning three continents. As their pioneering work has begun to be rediscovered and celebrated for its innovative portrayal of women, Grete (90) and Ellen (88) recently have been accorded major exhibitions in Germany, though their photographs remain virtually unknown in the United States.

Grete ("Ringl") and Ellen ("Pit") met in 1929 while students of Walter Peterhans, the first photography professor at the Bauhaus school, an institution at the center of artistic and social experimentation in Weimar Germany. Fully engaged in the cultural and social ferment of the time, the women challenged the expectations of their class, culture and sex, and established an advertising photography studio. This professional endeavor by two independent-minded women was pioneering, yet completely in the spirit of the moment - a time of social liberation, expanding mass media, economic upheaval and political change.

Amidst this electrifying milieu, Ringl and Pit created their unique photographs, which subtly subverted the images of women in mainstream advertising. Ringl and Pit began to win international prizes; however, it was to be a short-lived venture. When the Nazis came to power, they fled Germany, Ellen to New York and Grete to Buenos Aires. Ellen continued to photograph primarily during her travels. Grete defied the social conventions of her new homeland and became one of the most influential figures in Argentine photography.

Maintaining their friendship over the years, Grete and Ellen now share their belated fame and continue to contribute as older women and artists.