Berenice Abbott

Berenice Abbott, devoted her life to photography. She began her own photographic career in 1923 as an apprentice to her friend, Man Ray, in his Paris studio. Abbott established her own portrait studio in 1926, where she made compelling photographs of the celebrated writers and artists of the day.

Tylia Perlmutter, Paris, 1926

Abbott returned to New York City. Was a ten-year project later called “Changing New York”, published in 1939. Her captivating photographs of new bridges and skyscrapers evoke an exciting combination of objectivity and impassioned realism that is key to the timeless quality of her art. In the years that followed, her name would appear on a dozen other books, as well as countless magazine articles and essays. 

Floating Oyster Houses, South Street and Pike Slip, New York, 1931-32

In the same time she began her explorations in scientific photography. In 1958 she undertook her most remarkable project, to photograph scientific phenomena for the Physical Sciences Study Committee at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She was also a keen observer of the American scene.

Supersight Eye, 1945-6

Street Scene, Charleston, SC, 1934

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