Remembered as one of the most independent, determined and respected photographers of the 20th century, Berenice Abbott chronicled the evolution of New York City for decades beginning with the Great Depression. Almost 80 original prints will be available with 61 prints being offered without reserve to collectors during Heritage Auctions' Photographs Signature Auction May 18-19 in New York City. Images of iconic New York City landmarks such as
the New York Stock Exchange (est. $3,000-5,000),
the construction of Rockefeller Center (est. $1,500-2,500)
and Broadway to the Battery ($1,000-2,000) (below)highlight this collection of original prints.
"Berenice
Abbott spent years chronicling the evolution of New York City. She captured the
architecture, the people and the spirit of one of the busiest, most dynamic and
influential cities in the world. Many of these prints capture iconic images of
the New York City from Abbott's creative perspective but still with a dramatic
effect that stands the test of time," said Nigel Russell, Heritage
Auctions Director of Photography.
Heritage
Auctions will be hosting a reception from 6-8 p.m. May 11 at the New York
Office located at 445 Park Avenue at 57th street. Julia Van Haaften - who has
written a biography Berenice Abbott: A Life in Photography which is to be
published by W.W. Norton in April 2018 will speak about Abbott's impact and
significance.
The class
of 2000 International Photography Hall of Fame inductee began her photography
career in Paris as a darkroom assistant working with visual artist Man Ray in
the 1920s. She soon realized she had an eye for taking photos, as well as
developing them, and quickly built a sizable client base of portrait subjects.
Abbott had her first solo exhibition in 1926 at the Jan Slivinsky Gallery
entitled Portraits Photographiques. The show received rave reviews and Abbott
returned to New York in February 1929.
Upon
returning to New York City, Abbott quickly recognized what her next project
should entail. Influenced by Eugene Atget, the pioneering documentary
photographer, Abbott realized that New York City had grown tremendously while
she was away and she needed to capture "old New York" from every
aspect. The city became her subject and her work appeared in Vanity Fair, The
Saturday Review of Literature, the Saturday Evening Post, Theater Guild
Magazine and Fortune.
According
to her online biography, Abbott favored a straightforward, yet dynamic, style
that featured strong contrasts and dramatic angles. "Photography can never
grow up if it imitates some other medium," Abbott said. "It has to
walk alone. It has to be itself."
Many of
the photographs offered are from her almost 10 years of documenting New York
City, which eventually were published in a book entitled Changing New York.
Berenice
Abbott (American, 1898-1991), Broadway to the Battery, May 4, 1938. Gelatin
silver, 9-1/2 x 7-1/4 inches. Estimate: $1,000 - $2,000.
• Canyon: Broadway and Exchange Place, July 16, 1936 (est. $4,000-6,000)
•
Newsstand, Southwest Corner of 32nd Street and Third Avenue, November 19, 1935
(est. $2,000-3,000)
• Tempo
of the City II, Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street, May 13, 1938 (est. $1,000-2,000)
• Trolley
Car, Times Square, New York, 1936 (est. $2,000-3,000)
• Under the
"El" at the Battery, New York, 1936 (est. $1,000-2,000)
