Berenice Abbott

Berenice Abbott..


Berenice Abbott originally Bernice Abbott. Was Born in Ohio in 1898. She was Heavily influenced By Man Ray in her portraiture and Eugene Atget in her architecture.


Her photography is clear, honest,objective and realistic.


Abbott went to Europe in 1921 where she studied sculpture in Paris and Berlin. In 1923 She was hired by Man Ray as his dark room assistant at his portrait studio in Montparnasse. Man Ray was impressed with her dark room skills and allowed her to use his dark room for her own work. Abbott had her first solo exhibition in 1926.


In 1929 Abbott returned to New York where she immediately saw the cities photographic potential. Four years earlier she had been introduced to Eugene Atget and became a great admirer, i think it shows in her work. Using a Large Format Camera Abbott began to photograph New York. Her New York work has provided a historical chronicle of many destroyed buildings around Manhattan.


Photos by Eugene atget...









Photos by Berenice Abbott with Similar perspectives.

Abbott was part of the straight photography Movement. She didn't like the work of pictorialists.  Pictorialism started to die out after the first world war.