Famous Photographers – Berenice Abbott & New York in the 30s

As surprising as it might be, Berenice Abbott started her work as a photographer in Paris, where at the beginning of the 1920s she was the assistant of the famous Man Ray (besides his painting skills he was a fine photographer too). Nevertheless, after finishing her apprenticeship, she opened her own studio in the City of Light and began to be a fairly successful photographer.

Although for artists interwar Paris was the grand stage, Berenice decided to move to New York after she fell in love with the city during a trip in 1929. It was just a couple of months before the Wall Street Crash and for 6 years afterwards, she couldn’t get any financial support either from foundations, museums or individuals. It seemed that nobody was willing to finance artists anymore.

Her luck changed in 1935, when the local authorities impressed by the massive changes that irreversibly transformed the city in the past decades, started a project called “Changing New York”. Finally reaching her true potential, in the next 4 years she took  probably the most beautiful shots of the Big Apple’s day to day life that currently exist.  25 of those photos that made Berenice Abbott a famous photographer of the 20^th Century can be seen below. Now, enjoy, be inspired and if you will like this article, then please share it with your friends or community! Many thanks! Cheers!

P.S. You would probably like to see Famous 20th Century Photographers-The Legendary Dorothea Lange and Robert Doisneau- A Tribute to a Master of Photography.

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Blossom Restaurant, Manhattan (1935)

 

 

Broome Street, Manhattan(1935)

 

 

 Huts and unemployed, Manhattan. (1935)

 

 

Broome Street, Manhattan (1935)

 

 

Tri-boro Barber School, Manhattan (1935)

 

 

Mulberry and Prince Streets, Manhattan (1935)

 

 

Radio Row, Cortlandt Street, Manhattan (1936)

 

 

Lyric Theatre, Third Avenue, Manhattan (1936)

 

 

Watuppa, from water front, Brooklyn, Manhattan (1936)

 

 

Lebanon Restaurant (Syrian), Manhattan (1936)

 

 

Billboards and signs, Brooklyn (1936)

 

 

Rockefeller Center: Collegiate Church of St. Nicholas in foreground, Manhattan  (1936)

 

 

Church of God, Manhattan (1936)

 

 

Cheese Store Manhattan (1937)

 

 

Roast corn man, Manhattan (1938)

 

 

Hester Street, Manhattan (1938)

 

 

St. Mark’s Place, Staten Island (1937)

 

 

Shelter on the water front, Manhattan (1938)

 

 

Jay Street, Brooklyn (1936)

 

 

A & P, Manhattan (1936)

 

 

Fish Market, Manhattan (1935)

 

 

Sulton Street Dock, Manhattan skyline (1935)

 

 

40th Street, Manhattan (1935)

 

 

Waterfront, South Street, Manhattan (1935)

 

 

Murray Hill Hotel, Manhattan (1935)