(Note: this text is adapted from the Wikipedia article. I'll do that occasionally when a post is about simply getting a few facts down fast, and not about me trying to do great journalism. I'll edit the bits that aren't relevant to this blog, and link to the original text, and sometimes link to texts from more reliable sources. But really, this blog is supposed to be about the visual feel of the 1930s, not about double checked facts.)
Berenice Abbott (July 17, 1898 – December 9, 1991), born Bernice Abbott and urban design of the, was an Americanphotographer best known for her black-and-white photography of New York City architecture in the 1930s.
Abbott went to Europe in 1921, spending two years studying sculpture in Paris and Berlin. She first became involved with photography in 1923, when Man Ray, looking for somebody who knew nothing about photography and thus would do as he said, hired her as a darkroom assistant at his portrait studio. Later she would write: "I took to photography like a duck to water. I never wanted to do anything else." Man Ray was impressed by her darkroom work and allowed her to use his studio to take her own photographs. In 1926, she had her first solo exhibition.
Abbott's subjects were people in the artistic and literary worlds, including French nationals (Jean Cocteau), expatriates (James Joyce), and others just passing through the city. According to Sylvia Beach, "To be 'done' by Man Ray or Berenice Abbott meant you rated as somebody"
The famous portrait of Joyce, by Abbott:
In 1925, Man Ray introduced her to Eugène Atget's great photographs of Paris between 1900 and 1925. She became a great admirer of Atget's work, and managed to persuade him to sit for a portrait in 1927. He died shortly thereafter. While the government acquired much of Atget's archive, Abbott was able to buy the remainder in June 1928, and quickly started work on its promotion.
In early 1929, Abbott visited New York City to find an American publisher for Atget's photographs. Upon seeing the city again, however, Abbott immediately saw the photographic potential. She went back to Paris, closed up her studio, and returned to New York in September. Using this large format camera, Abbott photographed New York City with the diligence and attention to detail she had so admired in Eugène Atget. Her work has provided a historical chronicle of many now-destroyed buildings and neighborhoods of Manhattan.
Abbott worked on her New York project independently for six years, unable to get financial support. In 1935, however, Abbott was hired by the Federal Art Project (FAP) as a project supervisor for her "Changing New York" project. She continued to take the photographs of the city, but she had assistants to help her both in the field and in the office. This arrangement allowed Abbott to devote all her time to producing, printing, and exhibiting her photographs. By the time she resigned from the FAP in 1939, she had produced 305 photographs which were then deposited at the Museum of the City of New York.
Abott's vision of New York City has probably inspired filmmakers in later decades. Below - NYC - by Abbott, and by Sergio Leone ("Once Upon a Time in America") and by Woody Allen ("Manhattan"):
A few years ago photographer Douglas Levere did a recreation of the classic photographic setups of Abbott, to show how New York had changed since the 1930s. This youtube clip shows a comparison:
There's more photographs, and some texts about Abbott at the Masters of Photography site.
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