Skip to main content

Berenice Abbott Black and White Photography

American, 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.

to
1
2
1
Overall Width
to
Overall Height
to
4
2
1
1
1
4
2
2
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
4
6
1,134
817
791
575
4
Artist: Berenice Abbott
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 ...
Category

1980s American Modern Berenice Abbott Black and White Photography

Materials

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"
Category

1940s Berenice Abbott Black and White Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

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...
Category

1930s Other Art Style Berenice Abbott Black and White Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Theoline, Pier 11, East River, NY
By Berenice Abbott, 1898-1991
Located in New York, NY
Signed by the photographer.
Category

1930s Berenice Abbott Black and White Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Related Items
Orpheus #1 - Gelatin Silver Photograph Balanchine Ballet Classical Male Nudes
By George Platt Lynes
Located in Glenford, NY
George Platt Lynes 1948 Photograph #1 of Balanchine Ballet ‘Orpheus’. George Platt Lynes rare original vintage 1948 gelatin silver photograph (dated by the NY City Public Library) of nude dancers Francisco Moncion and Nicholas Magallanes in George Balanchine's iconic mid-20th Century ballet 'Orpheus'. Stamped on verso in dark blue ink at upper center, "GEORGE PLATT LYNES/145 EAST 52 STREET NEW YORK”. Photo shoot took place in NYC. Costumes and Set by ISAMU NAGUCHI. Photo is 7 5/8 x 9 1/4 inches, soft satin finish in excellent condition. This photograph is from Francisco Moncion's original collection given to him by George Platt Lyons. It is one of 14 different poses in the 'Orpheus' series. 8 different photographs are remaining for sale and are available on request. All are original Platt Lyons gelatin silver prints original to Moncion's collection and are stamped by the photographer. Photographs from this celebrated series are in the permanent collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art (NYC), Museum of Modern Art (MOMA, NYC), the NYC Public Library, and many university art archives. George Platt Lynes (1907–1955), was a gregarious American portrait, dance, fashion, and male nude photographer whose career spanned the late 1920s through the early 1950s. From age eighteen, Lynes entered the cosmopolitan world of the American expatriate community in Paris when he became acquainted with the salon of Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas. He began photographing authors like Stein, Jean Cocteau, André Gide, and Colette and soon established himself as one of the premier fashion photographers in the Condé Nast stable, documenting the ballet companies of George Balanchine/Lincoln Kirstein, and pursuing a private obsession with seductive images of young male nudes rarely published in his lifetime. Orpheus represents a major 20th Century artistic collaboration between composer Igor Stravinsky, choreographer George Ballanchine, and artist/designer Isamu Naguchi. Orpheus is a thirty-minute neoclassical ballet composed by Igor Stravinsky in collaboration with choreographer George Balanchine in Hollywood, California in 1947. The work was commissioned by Ballet Society, later renamed New York City Ballet, which Balanchine founded with Lincoln Kirstein. Sets and costumes were created by Isamu Noguchi. Noguchi’s lyre harp from the production became the symbol of the New York City Ballet. Francisco Moncion (July 6, 1918 – April 1, 1995) was a charter member of the New York City Ballet. Over the course of his forty year career, choreographers George Balanchine, and Jerome Robbins in the New York City Ballet created 22 major roles for Moncion including the Dark Angel...
Category

1940s Modern Berenice Abbott Black and White Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Broadmoor and Front Range (Colorado), 1970s Black and White Mountain Landscape
By Myron Wood
Located in Denver, CO
Renowned Colorado photographer Myron Wood (1921–1999) was known for his poetic black and white images of the American Southwest. Based in Colorado Springs, Wood spent decades documen...
Category

1970s American Modern Berenice Abbott Black and White Photography

Materials

Photographic Film

1930s Photograph of Ansel Adams and Ed Towler
By Wilson D. Ellis
Located in Soquel, CA
Ansel Adams and Ed Towler by Wilson D. Ellis (American, 20th Century). Titled "Ansel and Ed Towler 1936" on verso and signed "Wilson D Ellis" with date 7/16/35 under mat. Silver Brom...
Category

1930s American Realist Berenice Abbott Black and White Photography

Materials

Photographic Paper, Silver Gelatin

"Yeow! Point, Death Valley" - Abstracted Black & White Landscape Photograph
By Jeff Nixon
Located in Soquel, CA
"Yeow! Pt, Death Valley", a black and white landscape photograph that borders on abstraction by Jeff Nixon (American, 20th century). Signed "Jeff Nixon" lower right. Titled "Yeow! Pt, Death Valley" on verso. Unframed. Photograph size: 8"H x 9.5"W. Mat,12"H x 15"W. Jeff Nixon began photographing in the late 1960's, and by the end of the millennium had acquired an impressive list of credentials; many years as a year round resident of Yosemite Valley, noted instructor in the techniques of black and white photography which he gleaned from his years of working with Ansel Adams, and learning the Zone System from the master himself. Jeff has been an instructor for two California Junior Colleges, Modesto and Columbia, has led extension courses for UC Santa Cruz and UC Berkeley, and taught and lectured in numerous seminars and classes. He has taught workshops and has had many showings nationwide, working with Morley Baer, Chris Rainier, Rod Dresser, and John Sexton...
Category

1980s American Impressionist Berenice Abbott Black and White Photography

Materials

Paper, Silver Gelatin

Digging for Clams (Slim Aarons Estate Edition)
By Slim Aarons
Located in New York, NY
Mrs Hans Estin watches her children digging for clams at low tide on Black Beach, Massachusetts Bay, circa 1960 Slim Aarons Digging for Clams on Black Beach 1960 Fiber Print Estate...
Category

1960s American Modern Berenice Abbott Black and White Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Phoenix Nude 4, Torso With Blinds
By Kim Weston
Located in Carmel, CA
Mint Condition Dry Mounted to Mat Signed on Recto and Titled on Verso
Category

2010s Berenice Abbott Black and White Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Phoenix Nude 4, Torso With Blinds
Phoenix Nude 4, Torso With Blinds
$540 Sale Price
40% Off
H 9.5 in W 7.5 in
Lights of Mong Kok, Hong Kong - Asian Architecture Street Photography
By Richard Heeps
Located in Cambridge, GB
Lights of Mong Kok, Kowloon, Asian architecture photograph by Richard Heeps. The artwork captures the spirit of walking the streets in Hong Kong, the overwhelming buzz of the compet...
Category

2010s Contemporary Berenice Abbott Black and White Photography

Materials

Photographic Paper, C Print, Color, Silver Gelatin

Black and White Photography Set of Nine (Small)
By Richard Heeps
Located in Cambridge, GB
A set of nine black and white photographs by Richard Heeps. They can be hung in a grid, or spaced out throughout your interior. Richard Heeps, primarily known as a colour photographe...
Category

Early 2000s Contemporary Berenice Abbott Black and White Photography

Materials

Photographic Paper, C Print, Silver Gelatin, Black and White

Vintage Silver Gelatin Signed Photograph Samuel Gottscho Garden Flowers Photo NY
By Samuel Gottscho
Located in Surfside, FL
Vintage hand signed and stamp signed with the photographer's stamp and numbered photo of starflower. Samuel Herman Gottscho (February 8, 1875 - January 2...
Category

Mid-20th Century American Modern Berenice Abbott Black and White Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Cypress Tree Sunbeams - Black & White Landscape Photograph
By Jeffrey Conley
Located in Soquel, CA
Beautiful black and white photograph of cypress trees with light radiating through by Jeffrey Conley (American, b. 1969), c.2006. A first tier, silver gelatin test print (one of one...
Category

Early 2000s American Realist Berenice Abbott Black and White Photography

Materials

Archival Paper, Silver Gelatin

San Francisco. 'Seagull over Golden Gate Bridge, 1950s'. Book & Signed Print
By Fred Lyon
Located in Los Angeles, CA
An epic pictorial history of the City by the Bay Starting with an early picture of a gang of badass gold prospectors who put this beautiful Northern California city on the map, this ambitious and immersive photographic history of San Francisco takes a winding tour through the city from the mid–nineteeth century to the present day. Enjoy eye-catching views of the city’s most enduring landmarks and symbols: the Golden Gate Bridge, Chinatown, the picturesque trams that wind up and down the famously steep hills, the popular waterfront, its beautiful bay, and its spectacular cityscapes and vistas. San Francisco’s counterculture movements that shaped our collective consciousness are also featured prominently: the beats of North Beach, the hippies of Haight-Ashbury, the gay communities of Castro, and the Black Panthers of neighboring Oakland. Some of the city’s most famous residents also make appearances: Robin Williams, The Grateful Dead, Angela Davis...
Category

Mid-20th Century Berenice Abbott Black and White Photography

Materials

Archival Paper, Digital, Digital Pigment

Vintage Silver Gelatin Photograph Stanley Twardowicz Venice Italy Gondola Photo
By Stanley Twardowicz
Located in Surfside, FL
Black & white vintage photo of Venice Italy in 1952 by American Abstract Expressionism artist Stanley Twardowicz (1917-2008). It depicts a reflection...
Category

1950s American Modern Berenice Abbott Black and White Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Previously Available Items
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...
Category

20th Century Berenice Abbott Black and White Photography

Materials

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
Category

1930s Berenice Abbott Black and White Photography

Materials

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
Category

1930s Berenice Abbott Black and White Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Atget
By Berenice Abbott, 1898-1991
Located in Denton, TX
Signed.
Category

1920s Modern Berenice Abbott Black and White Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Atget
H 13.5 in W 10.25 in D 0.1 in
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.
Category

1940s Berenice Abbott Black and White Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Berenice Abbott black and white photography for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Berenice Abbott black and white photography available for sale on 1stDibs. You can also browse by medium to find art by Berenice Abbott in silver gelatin print, intaglio, photogravure and more. Much of the original work by this artist or collective was created during the 20th century and is mostly associated with the modern style. Not every interior allows for large Berenice Abbott black and white photography, so small editions measuring 6 inches across are available. Customers who are interested in this artist might also find the work of Morris Engel, Julius Shulman, and Garry Winogrand. Berenice Abbott black and white photography prices can differ depending upon medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $900 and tops out at $18,000, while the average work can sell for $3,500.

Recently Viewed

View All