Fifth Avenue, Nos. 4, 6, 8, Manhattan

Artist Berenice Abbott (American, 1898-1991)

CultureAmerican

DateMarch 6, 1936

MediumGelatin silver print

DimensionsOverall: 13 1/4 x 16 1/2 in. (33.7 x 41.9 cm)

Credit LineGift of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr.

Object number71.2207.5

Not on view

DescriptionThis is a photograph depicting a street scene with buildings.

Label TextBerenice Abbott American (1898-1991) Fifth Avenue, Nos. 4, 6, 8, Manhattan, March 6, 1936 Gelatin-silver print Gift of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr. 71.2207.5 Berenice Abbott is most celebrated for her photographs of the architectural landscape of 1930s New York. She first lived there from 1918 to 1921 before moving to Paris, where she photographed the city's literary and artistic elite. On a return visit to New York in 1929, Abbott was struck by the photographic potential of the transformed cityscape, and moved her studio back to Manhattan to capture it. Using a large-format camera that produced 8- by 10-inch negatives, she began to document the ever-changing New York skyline with the clarity and diligence she had admired in work by French photographers. With the eventual support of the Federal Art Project, she completed the series in 1939 and published it in a book. Changing New York has since been hailed as a mirror reflecting the emergence of modern Manhattan. It also serves as a precious archive of old New York, much of which has long since been demolished. Exhibition History"History of Photography," Alice R. and Sol B. Frank Photography Galleries, Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, Va, Fall, 2001. "Women: Art and Identity," Peninsula Fine Arts Center, Newport News, Va., June 24 - August 26, 2004. "Women of the Chrysler: a 400-Year Celebration of the Arts," Large Changing Gallery, Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, Va., March 24 - July 18, 2010.Published ReferencesElizabeth McCausland, _New York in the Thirties: As Photographed by Berenice Abbott_ (New York: Dover Publications, Inc.. 1967) p. 48 ISBN: 0-486-22967-X Formerly Titled: "Changing New York"