Berenice Abbott Photographs relating to Changing New York
name: label: Creator
content: Abbott, Berenice, 1898-1991
label: Names
content: Federal Art Project (New York, N.Y.)
topic: label: Occupation
content: Photographers -- New York (State) -- New York
label: Topic
content: Women artists
label: Topic
content: Women photographers
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: The collection was donated anonymously in 1957.
creator: label: Creator
content: Abbott, Berenice, 1898-1991
setName: label: See more items in
content: Berenice Abbott Photographs relating to Changing New York
bioghist: label: Biographical / Historical
content: Berenice Abbott (1898-1991) was a photographer in New York City, New York.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.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 0.8 Linear Feet
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1936-1960s
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives of American Art
identifier: label: Identifier
content: AAA.abbobere
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: Due to the small size of this collection the papers are arranged as one series.
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: 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.
altformavail: label: Existence and Location of Copies
content: 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.
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: 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.
relatedmaterial: label: Related Materials
content: 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.