Berenice Abbott
Personal Information
Born: 1898
Died: 1991
Country of Birth: USA
Nationality: USA
Ethnicity: White
Education
2 semesters at Ohio State University; Academie de la Grande Chaumiere; Prussin Academy of Arts
Professional Life
Field of Study: Photography, Inventor
Institution/Corporation: MOMA; MIT
Degrees & Memberships: none
Awards & Achievements
Awards: none found
Achievements: Preserved the photographic works of Eugene Atget; documented 1930s architectural nature of NYC on film; took portraits of cultural figures like James Joyce & Eugene Atget; co-founder of House of Photography a company that developed & sold photography equipment & devices; holds 4 patents for photograpic equipment; invented a cotton vest with numerous pockets to hold photography equipment (not patented); 1939-1960 combined science & photography taking pictures to depict scientific theories including pictures for a high school physics textbook, many of these pictures were displayed at MIT; did studies on light & motion;
Studied sculpture & theater in Paris
Took portraits of people in the arts & literary worlds like Jean Cocteau & James Joyce
Was an apprentice to Man Ray
Preserved the works of Eugene Atget
Documented changes in NY through pictures
Travelled US 1 from Florida to Maine taking over 2500 pictures of antebellum architecture & automobile related architecture
Invented a distortion enlarging easel & the telescopic lighting pole (now called autopole)
Produced photos for a physics textbook
Held 4 patents