ABBOTT (Berenice). - Lot 7

ABBOTT (Berenice). Berenice Abbott. Aperture Masters of Photography, No. 9. New York, Aperture Foundation, undated (circa 1986). Square quarto, illustrated hardcover by the publisher. The ninth volume in the “Aperture Masters of Photography” series, dedicated to Berenice Abbott (1898–1991), one of the greatest American photographers of the 20th century. After a stay in Paris, where she worked as Man Ray’s assistant, Abbott discovered and rescued from oblivion the work of Eugène Atget; she acquired a large portion of his negatives and played a decisive role in bringing him international recognition. Upon her return to New York, she undertook her famous project *Changing New York* (1935–1939), a vast photographic inventory of the rapidly changing metropolis, now considered one of the most important visual records of American urban history. Introduced by an essay by Julia Van Haaften, an expert on the artist, this volume brings together the major images of her body of work: architecture, urban landscapes, portraits, scientific photography, and visual experiments. An excellent overview of the work of a photographer whose documentary rigor is combined with remarkable formal quality. A very fine copy.