Hidden Cities: A Photobook

BERENICE ABBOTT
July 17, 1898 – December 9, 1991
BIOGRAPHY
Berenice Abbott was an American photographer best known for her portraits of cultural figures of the
interwar period, New York City photographs of architecture and urban design of the 1930s, and science
interpretation of the 1940s to the 1960s.
Abbott was born in Springfield, Ohio and brought up in Ohio by her divorced mother, née Lillian Alice
Bunn (m. Charles E. Abbott in Chillicothe OH, 1886).
She attended Ohio State University for two semesters, but left in early 1918 when her professor was
dismissed because he was a German teaching an English class. She moved to New York City, where she
studied sculpture and painting. In 1921 she traveled to Paris and studied sculpture with Emile Bourdelle.
While in Paris, she became an assistant to Man Ray, who wanted someone with no previous knowledge of
photography. Abbott took revealing portraits of Ray’s fellow artists.
Her university studies included theater and sculpture. She spent two years studying
sculpture in Paris and Berlin. She studied at the Académie de la Grande Chaumiere in
Paris and the Prussian Academy of Arts in Berlin. During this time, she adopted the French
spelling of her first name, “Berenice,” at the suggestion of Djuna Barnes. In addition to
her work in the visual arts, Abbott published poetry in the experimental literary journal
transition. Abbott first became involved with photography in 1923, when Man Ray hired
her as a darkroom assistant at his portrait studio in Montparnasse. Later, she wrote:
“I took to photography like a duck to water. I never wanted to do anything else.” Ray
was impressed by her darkroom work and allowed her to use his studio to take her own
photographs. In 1921 her first major works was in an exhibition in the Parisian gallery Le
Sacre du Printemps. After a short time studying photography in Berlin, she returned to
Paris in 1927 and started a second studio, on the rue Servandoni.
Berenice Abbott, West Street, 1938, Silver Gelatin Photograph
“
Berenice Abbott is an American
photographer known for her documentary
and street photography. Abbott’s work
played a significant role in capturing the
essence of New York City during the 1930s.
The quote reflects Abbott’s belief in the
power of photography as a medium to
enhance perception and understanding.
She saw photography as a tool that could
not only capture the visible world but
also reveal hidden truths and encourage
viewers to engage more deeply with their
surroundings. Through her photographs,
Photography helps people to see.
“
Abbott aimed to provide a fresh
perspective and to awaken people’s
awareness of the world around them.
Abbott’s statement emphasizes the
ability of photography to uncover and
communicate stories, to shed light on
aspects of life that may otherwise go
unnoticed. It suggests that photography
has the capacity to open people’s
eyes, to encourage them to observe
and appreciate the world in a more
meaningful and perceptive way.
HIDDEN CITIES INVISIBLE CITIES | Page 22 HIDDEN CITIES INVISIBLE CITIES | Page 23