Berenice Abbott
El, 2nd and 3rd Avenue Lines: Bowery and Division Streets, Manhattan

El, 2nd and 3rd Avenue Lines: Bowery and Division Streets, Manhattan

© Berenice Abbott/ Commerce Graphics

El, 2nd and 3rd Avenue Lines: Bowery and Division Streets, Manhattan
El, 2nd and 3rd Avenue Lines: Bowery and Division Streets, Manhattan
ArtistAmerican, 1898–1991
CultureAmerican
Titles
  • El, 2nd and 3rd Avenue Lines: Bowery and Division Streets, Manhattan
  • from the series Changing New York
Date1936
PlaceNew York, New York, United States
MediumGelatin silver print
DimensionsImage: 9 5/8 × 7 5/8 in. (24.4 × 19.3 cm)
Sheet: 9 15/16 × 7 15/16 in. (25.3 × 20.1 cm)
Credit LineMuseum purchase funded by the Caroline Wiess Law Accessions Endowment Fund, The Manfred Heiting Collection
Object number2002.503
Not on view

Explore Further

Department
Photography
Object Type
Description

New York City’s exploding
population in the early 20th century was matched by its rapid transformation
into a modern metropolis. In the 1930s, sponsored by the New Deal’s Federal Art
Project, Berenice Abbott embarked on an ambitious project to document the
changing face of New York’s architectural legacy, an encyclopedic documentation
of a city in a time of transition. Her decade-long project ultimately comprised
more than 700 photographs and culminated in her 1939 book Changing New York.
Though never an official member, Abbott had a very close relationship with the
Photo League and lectured there often.




ProvenanceEx-collection New York Public Library; [Lunn Ltd., New York]; purchased by Manfred Heiting, August 11, 1990; purchased by MFAH, 2002.
Exhibition HistoryExhibited in, "American Vision: Photographers from the East, Selections from the Manfred Heiting Collection purchased by the Brown Foundation for the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, at the Museum of Fine Arts Houston from August 23-December 29, 2003.

Exhibited in, "New York, New York: Photographs from the Manfred Heiting Collection", at the Museum of Fine Arts Houston from October 8 - March 9, 2003.
Inscriptions, Signatures and Marks
Recto, top left edge in negative: AGFA SAFETY FILM [backwards]
Stamped in red, verso, in a stamped rectangle: FEDERAL ART PROJECT // “Changing New York” // PHOTOGRAPHS BY BERENICE ABBOTT
Stamped in brown, verso, center: photograph // berenice abbott // 50 commerce st. // new york city
Inscribed in pencil, verso, lower center: El' 2nd and 3rd Avenue Lines: // Bowery and Division Street // Manhattan // Neg III Code II A-2 f2 / 4/24/36

Cataloguing data may change with further research.

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