Great Black & White Photographers Pt. 2

Berenice Abbott

    Berenice Abbott was born July 17th, 1898 in Springfield, Ohio. In 1917, Abbott enrolled in Ohio State University. She quickly decided that she did not enjoy it, so in 1918, Abbott moved to New York.  She had several jobs including being a waitress and a yarn dyer. Abbott became interested in sculpture and decided to move to Paris to pursue a career. Man Ray opened a portrait studio. Man Ray hired Abbott as a darkroom assistant. Abbott became interested in photography, so Man Ray taught her how to use a camera. Her photos came out good, so Abbott decided to start selling them and began paying Man Ray to use his supplies. Abbott soon quit her job with Man Ray and opened her own portrait studio. She moved back to New York in February of 1929 and opened a portrait studio. Some of Abbott's portraits were published in magazines like Vanity Fair. She documented New York changing over a span of almost 10 years and the photographers were published in the book Changing New York. Abbott published a book titled A Guide to Better Photography. In 1948, Abbott took scientific images for the American  High School Biology textbook. Later, these photos were featured, almost exclusively, when the Physical Science Study Committee of Educational Services published a new physics book. Abbott was a founding member of the House of Photography, which was a company dedicated to discovering new photography equipment and gadgets. In the 1950's, Abbott bought and settled in a house in Maine and later published a book of her photographs of Maine, titled A Portrait of Maine. She died December 9th, 1991 in Maine.