About

Born in Springfield, Ohio, Berenice Abbott spent the early part of her artistic career studying sculpture in New York, Berlin, and Paris. Her introduction to photography came when she made contact with the famed Surrealist Man Ray, who hired her as a darkroom assistant. Upon return to New York, Abbot began documenting the city in the manner of one of her major influences Eugène Atget. She is best known for her series Changing New York (1936–1938), which captured the architecture and shifting social landscape of New York during the Great Depression as a part of the WPA’s Federal Art Project. These images were both critically and commercially successful and remains a classic text for historians of photography today.

Selected Works

For more details or a list of available works, please contact the gallery.

Berenice Abbott

Rothman's Pawnshop

c. 1935; printed in 1979

Gelatin silver print

  • 15 1/4" x 19 1/4"
  • Edition 17/60
Berenice Abbott

Department of Docks

c. 1935; printed 1979

Gelatin silver print

  • 15 1/4" x 19 1/4"
  • Edition 17/60
Berenice Abbott

Sumner Healey Antique Shop

c. 1935; printed in 1979

Gelatin silver print

  • 15 1/4" x 19 1/4"
  • Edition 17/60
Berenice Abbott

Treasury Building from J.P. Morgan's Office

c. 1935; printed in 1979

Gelatin silver print

  • 15 1/4" x 19 1/4"
  • Edition 17/60
Berenice Abbott

Gun Smith & Police Department

c. 1935; printed 1979

Gelatin silver print

  • 15 1/4" x 19 1/4"
  • Edition 17/60
Berenice Abbott

Snuff Shop

c. 1935; printed 1979

Gelatin silver print

  • 15 1/4" x 19 1/4"
  • Edition 17/60
Berenice Abbott

Columbus Circle

c. 1935; printed 1979

Gelatin silver print

  • 15 1/4" x 19 1/4"
  • Edition 17/60
Berenice Abbott

Jacob Heymann Butcher Shop, 345 Sixth Avenue

1938, printed 1970s

Silver Print

  • 10 1/2" x 13 1/4"

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