Influential New York City Photographer’s Print Up for Auction

Berenice Abbott's work captured shift from 'old New York' to bustling Metropolis.

Influential New York City Photographer’s Print Up for Auction

Influential New York City Photographer’s Print Up for Auction

By Adrian Lam

During a time of great change in New York City history, photographer Berenice Abbott was there to capture the moments on camera.

And now almost 80 original prints of hers will hit the block during Heritage Auctions’ Photographs Signature Auction May 18-19 in New York City.

After returning to New York City in 1929, the former darkroom assistant turned her lens on a New York City undergoing both rapid change and the hardships of the Great Depression.

Newsstand, Southwest Corner of 32nd Street and Third Avenue, November 19, 1935 (Heritage Auctions)

Iconic photographs of New York City landmarks such as the New York Stock Exchange (est. $3,000-5,000), the construction of Rockefeller Center (est. $1,500-2,500) and Broadway to the Battery ($1,000-2,000) will be among the auction highlights.

“Berenice Abbott spent years chronicling the evolution of New York City. She captured the architecture, the people and the spirit of one of the busiest, most dynamic and influential cities in the world,” Heritage Auctions Director of Photography Nigel Russell said in a statement.

Many of the photographs at the Heritage auction were the result of a decade of documenting New York City, the basis of a book entitled Changing New York.

New York at Night, 1932.(Heritage Auctions)
Pennsylvania Station Interior, July 14, 1936. (Heritage Auctions)
Jacob Heyman Butcher Shop, 345 Sixth Ave., June 13, 1938. (Heritage Auctions)
New York Stock Exchange II, 1934 (Heritage Auctions)
Tempo of the City II, Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street, May 13, 1938 (Heritage Auctions)
Broadway to the Battery, May 4, 1938 (Heritage Auctions)
Lyric Theatre, 100 Third Avenue between 12th and 13th Streets, April 24, 1936 (Heritage Auctions)
Lower West Street, Circa 1948 (Heritage Auctions)
Flatiron Building, Madison Square, May 18, 1938 (Heritage Auctions)
Depeyster Statue, Bowling Green, July 23, 1936 (Heritage Auctions)
Newsstand, Southwest Corner of 32nd Street and Third Avenue, November 19, 1935. (Heritage Auctions)
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