Archives of American Art

A Finding Aid to the Berenice Abbott Photographs relating to Changing New York, 1936-1960s, in the Archives of American Art

Summary

Collection ID:
AAA.abbobere
Creators:
Abbott, Berenice, 1898-1991
Dates:
1936-1960s
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
0.8 Linear feet
Repository:

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
The Berenice Abbott Photographs relating to Changing New York measure 0.8 linear feet and date from 1936 to the 1960s. Found are photographs of New York City taken by Berenice Abbott for the Federal Art Project of the Works Progress Administration and sponsored by the Museum of the City of New York.

Arrangement

Arrangement
Due to the small size of this collection the papers are arranged as one series.

Biographical / Historical

Biographical / Historical
Berenice Abbott (1898-1991) was a photographer in New York City, New York. Her photographs were included in Changing New York (1939).
Abbott was born in 1898 in Springfield, Ohio. She began studying at the Ohio State University and moved to New York City in 1918. Later, she studied sculpture in Paris and became an assistant to Man Ray. By the late 1920s, Abbott began taking photographs of New York City. In 1935, she was hired by the Works Progress Administration, Federal Art Project, to document the city's architecture, neighborhoods, and population. Changing New York, a guidebook aimed at visitors to the New York World's Fair, included ninety-seven of Abbott's photographs with captions written by Elizabeth McCausland, an esteemed art critic and Abbott's partner of over thirty-years.
Berenice Abbott died in Maine in 1991.

Administration

Author
Jayna M. Josefson
Existence and Location of Copies
The collection is available on 35mm microfilm reel 376 at Archives of American Art offices and through interlibrary loan. Researchers should note that the arrangement of the material described in the container inventory does not reflect the arrangement of the collection on microfilm.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
The collection was donated anonymously in 1957.
Processing Information
The photographs were microfilmed on reel 376 after receipt. The collection was processed, and a finding aid prepared by Jayna Josefson in 2023 with support from the Smithsonian American Women's History Initiative.

Using the Collection

Conditions Governing Access
This collection is open for research. Access to original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center.
Conditions Governing Use
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Preferred Citation
Berenice Abbott photographs relating to Changing New York, 1936-1960s. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Related Materials
Additional material may be found in the Berenice Abbott papers, Manuscripts and Archives Division, The New York Public Library.
The Archives of American Art also holds the Elizabeth McCausland papers, 1838-1995, bulk 1920-1960, which contain an additional set of photographic prints relating to Changing New York.

Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Photographers -- New York (State) -- New York Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Women artists Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Women photographers Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Federal Art Project (New York, N.Y.) Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

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