Berenice Abbott, 1898-1991 WASHINGTON SQUARE LOOKING NORTH1936
1936
About the Item
- Creator:Berenice Abbott, 1898-1991 (1898-1991, American)
- Creation Year:1936
- Dimensions:Height: 16 in (40.64 cm)Width: 12 in (30.48 cm)
- Medium:
- Period:
- Condition:
- Gallery Location:Portland, ME
- Reference Number:
Berenice Abbott, 1898-1991
While photographer Berenice Abbott has wrongly never been heralded as one of the defining giants of 20th-century photography, she is widely known, indeed celebrated, for her iconic portraits of some of the most glamorous denizens of 1920s bohemian Paris.
And although less familiar, Abbott’s photos of the deserted streets, aging tenements and rising office towers of Depression-era New York have been critically recognized as nothing short of groundbreaking. Additionally, her relatively obscure work as a science photographer has received an admiring reappraisal in recent years. Recognized for having dramatically advanced the medium’s aesthetics and techniques (earning four patents along the way), not to mention the ambition of her subject matter — the principle laws of physics — she has been favorably compared to two early masters of modernist experimentation: her mentor Man Ray and László Moholy Nagy.
In 1918, at just 19, freckled, androgynous and with cropped hair, Abbott fell in with a crowd that included the lesbian writer and illustrator Djuna Barnes and the Dadaists Man Ray and Marcel Duchamp. They encouraged her to follow them to Paris and study with the renowned sculptor Antoine Bourdelle. Unable to pay for her training, and barely surviving, Abbott took a job as Man Ray’s assistant. The miracles of the darkroom quickly converted her to photography, as did her paycheck, and Man Ray tutored her in its fundamentals.
By 1926, Abbott had set up her own studio with backing from Peggy Guggenheim, the American heiress and art patron. André Gide, Jean Cocteau, Janet Flanner and James Joyce were among the luminaries and socialites who came for sittings. Her subversive lens made for riveting portraits.
A number of Abbott’s images of New York appear to have been shot by drone or, in the technological equivalent for the day, a dirigible. They actually entailed her stationing herself precariously on the rooftops and ledges of the skyscrapers along Wall Street and Midtown.
That feat recalls the famous photograph of Abbott’s contemporary and fellow Ohioan Margaret Bourke-White taking a shot of the New York skyline astride one of the metallic eagle heads atop the Chrysler building. One can only wonder if a photograph of Abbott in a similarly heroic pose would have helped her recognition as the trailblazing documentarian she was.
Find Berenice Abbott photography on 1stDibs.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: Portland, ME
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 10 days of delivery.
- SPAINBy Jean LaurentLocated in Portland, MELaurent, Juan (French, ). SPAIN. Folio (14 x 18 inches), morocco, gilt title, 50 leaves with 130 albumen photos on both sides depicting Spanish buildings and landscapes, artwork, armor, and other objects, all edges gilt. Not dated but circa 1870s-1880s. Ex collection Samuel Mather, with his bookplate. The photos, mostly about 13 1/2 x 9 7/8 inches, some about 5 1.2 x 7 1/4 inches, all in excellent conditionthe; binding with an expertly rebacked spine in well-matched morocco, and stabilization of the edges by Green Dragon Bindery. Jean Laurent, (French, 1816-1886) was a French photographer who worked mostly in Spain. He photographed architecture and landscape scenes throughout Spain, and sold the images separately, so that it is likely that our album was created for the buyer from images he had chosen. Laurent was the official photographer to the Queen of Spain and to the Prado Museum. Samuel Mather (American 1851-1931) was an Industrialist and philanthropist who was descended from Cotton Mather...Category
1870s Landscape Photography
MaterialsPhotographic Film
- THE MOTHER OF US ALLBy Carl Van VechtenLocated in Portland, METhomson, Virgil (American, 1896-1989. THE MOTHER OF US ALL. Music Press, NY, 1947. Quarto, cloth, 157pp. The limited edition of 55 copies on special paper, signed on the colophon pag...Category
1940s Portrait Photography
MaterialsSilver Gelatin
- GENERAL BILLY MITCHELL - SIGNED AND INSCRIBED PHOTO DATED JANUARY, 1926Located in Portland, ME(Mitchell, Gen. Billy). GENERAL BILLY MITCHELL - SIGNED AND INSCRIBED PHOTO DATED JANUARY, 1926 by an unknown photographer. A portrait photograph of the General in full uniform, insc...Category
1920s Portrait Photography
MaterialsSilver Gelatin
- WARREN G. HARDING SIGNED, INSCRIBED AND DATED PHOTOGRAPHLocated in Portland, MEShorey, Charles Urban. WARREN G. HARDING SIGNED, INSCRIBED AND DATED PHOTOGRAPH. Original gelatin silver photograph, 1921. Inscribed and signed on the p...Category
1920s Portrait Photography
MaterialsSilver Gelatin
- JANIS JOPLIN BACKSTAGE AT THE WINTERLAND, SAN FRANCISCO.By Jim MarshallLocated in Portland, MEMarshall, Jim. JANIS JOPLIN BACKSTAGE AT THE WINTERLAND, SAN FRANCISCO. Photograph, 1968, printed later. Gelatin Silver print on glossy paper. Unsigned. 17 7/8 x 12 1/4 inches, 455 x...Category
1960s Portrait Photography
MaterialsSilver Gelatin
- PAUL BOWLESBy Carl Van VechtenLocated in Portland, MEVan Vechten, Carl. PAUL BOWLES. Gelatin Silver photograph, 1958. With the photographer's blind stamp, recto and his stamp and annotations, verso. 10 x 7 3/4 inches. In excellent condition. Paul Bowles (American, 1910-1999) was an author, composer and translator, who lived most of his life, and did most of his work in Tangier, Morocco. He is best known for the novel "The Sheltering Sky."Category
1950s Portrait Photography
MaterialsSilver Gelatin
- Harbor, Black & White Photography, Gelatin Silver Print, Signed, Portugal 2000By Ana Maria CortesãoLocated in Coimbra, PTStreet Photography /2000. Portugal / Analog camera photo / B&W 35 mm film. 400 iso / Gelatin Silver Print Signed, titled, negative date & print date on verso. Ana Maria is visual ar...Category
Early 2000s Contemporary Black and White Photography
MaterialsPhotographic Film, Black and White, Silver Gelatin
- Highway, Portugal 2003 /Gelatin Silver Print/ SignedBy Ana Maria CortesãoLocated in Coimbra, PTStreet Photography /2003. Portugal / Analog camera photo / B&W 35 mm film. 400 iso / Gelatin Silver Print Signed, titled, negative date & p...Category
Early 2000s Contemporary Black and White Photography
MaterialsPhotographic Film, Black and White, Silver Gelatin
- Nightfall, Portugal 2000 /Gelatin Silver Print/ SignedBy Ana Maria CortesãoLocated in Coimbra, PTStreet Photography /2000. Portugal / Analog camera photo / B&W 35 mm film. 400 iso / Gelatin Silver Print Signed, titled, negative date & p...Category
Early 2000s Contemporary Black and White Photography
MaterialsPhotographic Film, Black and White, Silver Gelatin
- Storm, Portugal 1999 /Gelatin Silver Print/ SignedBy Ana Maria CortesãoLocated in Coimbra, PTStreet Photography /1999. Portugal / Analog camera photo / B&W 35 mm film. 400 iso / Gelatin Silver Print, Signed, titled, negative date & print date on verso. Ana Maria is visual artist. She had a formal education in Fine Arts. Since 2000 she also is interested in photography and she started by doing theater photography...Category
1990s Contemporary Black and White Photography
MaterialsPhotographic Film, Black and White, Silver Gelatin
- Harbor, Black & White Photography, Gelatin Silver Print, Signed, Portugal 2000By Ana Maria CortesãoLocated in Coimbra, PTStreet Photography /2000. Portugal / Analog camera photo / B&W 35 mm film. 400 iso / Gelatin Silver Print Signed, titled, negative date & print date on verso. Ana Maria is visual ar...Category
Early 2000s Contemporary Black and White Photography
MaterialsPhotographic Film, Black and White, Silver Gelatin
- Nightfall, Portugal 2000 /Gelatin Silver Print/ SignedBy Ana Maria CortesãoLocated in Coimbra, PTStreet Photography /2000. Portugal / Analog camera photo / B&W 35 mm film. 400 iso / Gelatin Silver Print Signed, titled, negative date & p...Category
Early 2000s Contemporary Black and White Photography
MaterialsPhotographic Film, Black and White, Silver Gelatin