Berenice Abbott
American, 1898-1991
Born 1898, Springfield, Ohio
Died 1991, Monson, Maine
Abbott came to New York City in 1918 after one semester at Ohio State University. She studied journalism at Columbia University for a year and was a member of the Greenwich Village artistic circle that included the writers Djuna Barnes, Kenneth Burke, and Eugene O'Neill. In 1921 she moved to Paris, where she studied sculpture with Constantin Brancusi in 1921–23 and was Man Ray's studio assistant from 1923 to 1925, as well as running her own portrait studio. Eugène Atget’s documentary photographs of Paris, which she discovered at this time, were a lifelong influence. After Atget's death in 1927, she bought a large number of his glass-plate negatives and prints, from which she later produced books on him. In 1929 she returned to New York, where she photographed the city streets in the style of Atget. From 1936 to 1939, the Federal Art Project (FAP), a New Deal aid program, sponsored her documentary work, which culminated in "Changing New York," an exhibition displayed in venues throughout the city (1937–39), and a book (published 1939).
Beginning in the 1930s, Abbott worked for Fortune and Life magazines and taught photography at the New School for Social Research (1934–58). She was an active member of the Photo League throughout its life: she lectured there frequently, served on the advisory board (1938–43), and participated in the exhibition "This Is the Photo League" (1948–49). In 1934 she met the art critic and social activist Elizabeth McCausland, a strong supporter of the League, and they lived together in Greenwich Village until McCausland’s death in 1965.
Although known for her cityscapes and portraits, in the late 1950s and 1960s Abbott collaborated with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology on a series of groundbreaking photographs illustrating the laws of physics. Abbott published numerous books on photography. There was a major retrospective of her work at the Museum of Modern Art in 1970. In 1968 Abbott moved to Maine, where she remained until her death, photographing rural subjects.
Died 1991, Monson, Maine
Abbott came to New York City in 1918 after one semester at Ohio State University. She studied journalism at Columbia University for a year and was a member of the Greenwich Village artistic circle that included the writers Djuna Barnes, Kenneth Burke, and Eugene O'Neill. In 1921 she moved to Paris, where she studied sculpture with Constantin Brancusi in 1921–23 and was Man Ray's studio assistant from 1923 to 1925, as well as running her own portrait studio. Eugène Atget’s documentary photographs of Paris, which she discovered at this time, were a lifelong influence. After Atget's death in 1927, she bought a large number of his glass-plate negatives and prints, from which she later produced books on him. In 1929 she returned to New York, where she photographed the city streets in the style of Atget. From 1936 to 1939, the Federal Art Project (FAP), a New Deal aid program, sponsored her documentary work, which culminated in "Changing New York," an exhibition displayed in venues throughout the city (1937–39), and a book (published 1939).
Beginning in the 1930s, Abbott worked for Fortune and Life magazines and taught photography at the New School for Social Research (1934–58). She was an active member of the Photo League throughout its life: she lectured there frequently, served on the advisory board (1938–43), and participated in the exhibition "This Is the Photo League" (1948–49). In 1934 she met the art critic and social activist Elizabeth McCausland, a strong supporter of the League, and they lived together in Greenwich Village until McCausland’s death in 1965.
Although known for her cityscapes and portraits, in the late 1950s and 1960s Abbott collaborated with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology on a series of groundbreaking photographs illustrating the laws of physics. Abbott published numerous books on photography. There was a major retrospective of her work at the Museum of Modern Art in 1970. In 1968 Abbott moved to Maine, where she remained until her death, photographing rural subjects.
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