Bernice Abbott: Bringing Photography to The New School
Video (7:06): Berenice Abbott (1898-1991) started her career as a photographer in Paris, France. Upon returning to the US Berenice Abbott starte teaching. She spent 24 years (1934-58) But outside the classroom, Abbott was a central figure in the development of photography as an art form and known for creating some of the most important pieces of art in the 20th century. She wrote the landmark publication A guide to better photography (Crown Publishers in 1941). Her best known work is the traveling exhibition and publication Changing New York (1937). She created the book draft for Chaning New York with her girlfriend Elizabeth McCausland. The publisher rejected the text and created a new text. In 2020, Sarah M. Miller published ‘Documentary in Disbute’ (The MIT Press) with Elizabeth McCausland’s original text for Berenice Abbott’s images.
This video is a part of Women’s Legacy Project, published by The New School in 2020.
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