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.
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WASHINGTON SQUARE LOOKING NORTH
By Berenice Abbott, 1898-1991
Located in Portland, ME
Abbott, Berenice. WASHINGTON SQUARE LOOKING NORTH. Vintage Gelatin Silver print, 1936. Stamped verso "Federal Art Project/"Changing New York"/Photograp...
Silver Gelatin
New York at Night
By Berenice Abbott, 1898-1991
Located in New York, NY
13.5 x 10.5 inch gelatin silver print, printed circa 1980 Framed to 26.5 x 22.5 inches Signed on verso Berenice Abbott's "New York at Night" is one ...
Silver Gelatin
GUS HILL'S MINSTRELS
By Berenice Abbott, 1898-1991
Located in Portland, ME
Abbott, Berenice GUS HILL'S MINSTRELS Vintage Gelatin Silver print, 1936. Stamped verso "Federal Art Project/"Changing New York"/Photographs by Berenice Abbott" and also stamped and ...
Silver Gelatin
EL STATION - NINTH AVENUE LINE
By Berenice Abbott, 1898-1991
Located in Portland, ME
Abbott, Berenice EL STATION - NINTH AVENUE LINE Vintage Gelatin Silver print, 1936. Stamped verso "Federal Art Project/"Changing New York"/Photographs by Berenice Abbott" and also s...
Silver Gelatin
Hoboken Ferry Terminal, Lackawanna Railroad, Barclay Street, New York
By Berenice Abbott, 1898-1991
Located in New York, NY
This work is offered by CLAMP in New York City.
Silver Gelatin
Lyric Theatre, 100 Third Avenue 1936, Hand Signed Gelatin Silver Print, Framed
By Berenice Abbott, 1898-1991
Located in Aventura, FL
Lyric Theatre, 100 Third Avenue 1936. Printed in 1982. Gelatin silver print on mounting sheet. Hand signed by Abbott lower right margin of the mount. Hand stamped reading "Bereni...
Paper, Silver Gelatin
Edward Hopper, 1947
By Berenice Abbott, 1898-1991
Located in Santa Monica, CA
Signed and numbered in pencil on recto Gelatin Silver Print Image - 18"x23", Matted - 27"x33"
Silver Gelatin
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Price Upon Request
New York Stock Exchange [Wall Street]
By Berenice Abbott, 1898-1991
Located in New York, NY
Gelatin silver print mounted to museum board Signed in pencil on overmat, l.r. Photographer's 'Abbott, Maine' stamp in black ink, verso of mount 9.5 x 7.5 inches, sheet 14 x 11 inches, mount 16.625 x 13.375 inches, overmat This artwork is offered by ClampArt, located in New York...
Silver Gelatin
Price Upon Request
Theoline, Pier 11, East River, NY
By Berenice Abbott, 1898-1991
Located in New York, NY
Signed by the photographer.
Silver Gelatin
$3,500
H 16 in W 20 in
Policewoman Playing Tag, New York City, Gelatin Silver Photograph, 16x20, Signed
By Leonard Freed
Located in New york, NY
Policewoman Playing Tag, New York City, 1978 by Leonard Freed, is a 16” x 20” gelatin silver photograph from the photographer's Police Work series and book. The photograph from the estate is stamped verso (back of photo) and signed by Brigitte Freed (widow). A black and white modern photograph...
Photographic Film, Photographic Paper, Silver Gelatin
Backlighted Aspen, Telluride, Colorado
By David H. Gibson
Located in Dallas, TX
"I like to go back to a place. Seasons change. Light, which is theater, changes. Nature is tumultuous, and our contact with it makes life happen.” - David H. Gibson David H. Gibso...
Silver Gelatin
Carcava, black and white photograph of desert
By Heather Boose Weiss
Located in New York, NY
Archival pigment print. 15" x 15" edition of 10, unframed, $1,800 30" x 30" edition of 10, unframed $3,450 Please allow at least 2 weeks for the photograph to be printed and shipp...
Silver Gelatin
$4,124
H 20 in W 30 in
Sparring - Chris Smith, Muhammad Ali, Ali, boxing, black and white, 20x30 in
By Chris Smith
Located in London, GB
Chris Smith (b.1937) Sparring silver gelatin fibre based print 20 x 30 in. / 34.5 x 48 in. / 46 x 66 in. signed and numbered printed later This work is available in the following si...
Photographic Paper, Silver Gelatin
$600
H 10 in W 8 in D 0.07 in
LON OF NY ALONZO HANAGAN RARE 1950 VINTAGE MALE NUDE PHOTOGRAPH FRED REGAN
Located in Glenford, NY
Alonzo Hanagan, Lon of New York, Original Vintage Photograph of Fred Regan, circa 1950. Alonzo James Hanagan (1911–1999), working under the pseudonym "Lon of New York," was a pion...
Silver Gelatin
$5,600
H 9.25 in W 7.38 in D 0.07 in
GEORGE PLATT LYNES 7 NUDE PHOTOGRAPHS of dancer FRANCISCO MONCION in NYC Apt.
By George Platt Lynes
Located in Glenford, NY
Extraordinary Rare and personal George Platt Lyons nude photographs of NYC Ballet dancer Francisco Moncion in the New York City apartment of Platt Lynes. These are original vintage g...
Silver Gelatin
$1,150
H 20.15 in W 23.75 in D 1 in
Mission San Xavier Del Bac, Tucson Arizona
By Huntington Witherill
Located in San Francisco, CA
This Photograph titled "Mission San Xavier Del Bac, Tucson Arizona" is a gelatin silver print by noted American photographer Huntington Witherill, born ...
Silver Gelatin
$2,500
H 11 in W 14 in
World Series Parade, New York Photo, Gelatin Silver Print, Signed, 11x14, 1954
By Leonard Freed
Located in New york, NY
World Series Parade, New York City, 1954 by Leonard Freed, is an 11" x 14" gelatin silver later ("lifetime") print, signed on verso (back of print) by the photographer and stamped (magnum). The photograph is handprinted by Leonard Freed. Parade by Freed captures the joy of two majorettes en route in the streets of the city for the celebration of the New York Giants...
Photographic Paper, Silver Gelatin, Photographic Film
$3,499
H 14 in W 11 in
Kate Standing, Signed Vintage Gelatin Silver Print, 14x11, 2002, Female Nude
By Leonard Freed
Located in New york, NY
Leonard Freed's stamped vintage (verso), 14" x 11," gelatin silver signed and hand-printed by Freed, Kate Standing, is from the Kate series, 2002. A photographer herself, model Kat...
Photographic Film, Photographic Paper, Silver Gelatin
$3,699
H 16 in W 20 in
Jewish Diaspora USA 1950s, School Bus New York, Black and White Photography
By Leonard Freed
Located in New york, NY
A gelatin silver print, 16" x 20", signed print (verso) by the photographer, School Bus, New York City, 1954 is a black-and-white photograph, capturing Jew...
Photographic Film, Photographic Paper, Silver Gelatin
$2,666
H 20 in W 16 in
Kate Resting, Black and White Gelatin Silver Photograph, Signed, 20x16 Nude
By Leonard Freed
Located in New york, NY
Black and white contemporary portrait photography of a female nude by Leonard Freed, Kate Resting, is in the photographer's series "Kate". A 20" x 16" gelatin silver photograph signed verso (back of photo) by the Freed estate. The self-assigned female nude photo series on Kate became a welcome reprieve for Leonard Freed who during a long photo...
Silver Gelatin, Photographic Film, Photographic Paper
$6,000
H 12 in W 16 in
City Prison, New Orleans, Vintage Gelatin Silver Photo, Signed, Civil Rights 60s
By Leonard Freed
Located in New york, NY
City Prison, New Orleans, 1965 by American photographer Leonard Freed is a vintage gelatin silver print, signed verso (back of photo) by the photographer. It is an iconic image in th...
Silver Gelatin, Photographic Film, Photographic Paper
Pennsylvania Station Interior Study July 14th
By Berenice Abbott, 1898-1991
Located in Carmel, CA
Incredible important historic photograph by one of the most famous women photographers. Excellent condition been framed since purchased. Signed in Pencil on Lower Right Recto Mat Dry...
Silver Gelatin
Sold
H 19.25 in W 15.125 in
Night View, New York (aka New York at Night)
By Berenice Abbott, 1898-1991
Located in Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA
Berenice Abbott learned photography from the artist Man Ray when she was his studio assistant in Paris in 1923-1925. It was in Paris where Man Ray introduced her to the work of Eugèn...
Silver Gelatin
Fulton Street Market, Manhattan Skyline
By Berenice Abbott, 1898-1991
Located in New York, NY
8 x 10 inch vintage gelatin silver print Artist stamps and pencil notations on verso
Silver Gelatin
Herald Square, 34th Street
By Berenice Abbott, 1898-1991
Located in New York, NY
15 x 19.5 inch gelatin silver print, printed circa 1980 Signed and editioned on mount recto #21/60
Silver Gelatin
Atget
By Berenice Abbott, 1898-1991
Located in Denton, TX
Signed.
Silver Gelatin
Designer's Window, Bleecker Street
By Berenice Abbott, 1898-1991
Located in Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA
Signed on back of print with artist's stamp. Printed in the 1950's.
Silver Gelatin