Berenice Abbott

Berenice Abbott was born on July 17, 1898 in Springfield, Ohio. She studied in public schools in Columbus and Cleveland and took her college degree in Ohio State University but left in early 1918. She moved with friends from Ohio State University to New York's Greenwich Village where the anarchist Hippolyte Havel adopted her. She lives in an apartment on Greenwich Avenue with several others, like the philosopher Kenneth Burke, literacy critic Malcolm Cowley and the writer Djuna Barnes. She initially got interested in journalism but later on shifted her attention in theater and sculpture because of her interactions with some artists such as Eugene O'Neill, Sadakichi Hartmann and Man Ray.

In 1921, she went to Europe to study sculpture, first in Paris then to Berlin then back and forth. She worked in Paris as an assistant to the famous photographer Man Ray. She was greatly influenced to pursue photography when she fiat saw the photographs of Eugene Atget. In 1925 to 1929, she was able to establish her own enviable reputation when she was given the opportunity to exhibit her first one man show of photographs which she entitled Portraits Photographiques. Her photos were both stunning and honest-a rare combination of portrait photography. She has this talent on finding the best in people and trying to understand their true characteristic and identity.

In 1927, she soon met Eugene Atget. Atget personally came to her studio at 55 Rue du Bac to be photographed by Abbott. When she finished printing the portrait of Atget, she went to Atget's apartment but found the apartment empty. Atget had died. Abbott then gave Atget's photographs to his old friend, the actor Andre Calmette. Forty years later Abbott wrote in The World of Atget, "Their impact (referring to Atget's photograph) was immediate and tremendous... a sudden flash of recognition- the shock of realism unadorned... "

In 1929, she left Europe and went back to New York. There, she discovered her passion for the city. She worked as a professional photographer taking a series of photographs of American businessmen for Fortune magazine. Later on, she started to document New York City with her camera. She also photographed scientific subjects for Life magazine.

Abbott's successful photographic career continued. In 1930, she had another one man show of her photographs at the Contemporary Art Club in Harvard. Since then, she continuously has her exhibit all through United States.

In 1934 to 1958, she taught photography at the New School for Social Research in New York. She also photographed Routh One along the Atlantic coast and discovered the state of Maine in 1954. In 1958, she worked on a huge project for the Physical Science Study Committee of Educational Services, Inc. where she has to produce photographs of physical phenomena.

Today, Berenice was known as one of the famous photographers. For over 60 years, she displayed her unique ability to create consistently strong photographs, may it be portrait or cityscape.

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