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Searching... Stillwater Public Library | J 921 ABBOTT | Searching... Unknown |
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Summary
Summary
One theme repeatedly crops up in the life and career of Berenice Abbott: her refusal to be defined by other people's expectations. Spurning traditional roles for women of her era, she lived a bohemian life among other artists in New York's Greenwich Village and Paris, and embarked upon a career in what was then a male-dominated field. Decades later, her photographs are celebrated as some of the most authentic images of a city ever captured on film, and she is remembered not only as a master American photographer but also as a teacher, writer, inventor, and photographic archivist.
Veteran nonfiction writer George Sullivan draws on his vast knowledge of the photographic world to chronicle Berenice Abbott's life and career, and to present a fascinating social portrait of the artistic community of New York in the early half of the 20th century. Interviews with her contemporaries and high- quality reproductions of some of her most famous photographs provide an illuminating image of this determined, spirited woman who changed the face of American photography. Bibliography, index.
Author Notes
George Sullivan is a best-selling nonfiction author with more than 100 books to his credit, including highly accoladed Berenice Abbott, Photographer. He lives in New York City.
Reviews (4)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 9 Up-This is a detailed biography of the photographer and innovator who felt that she made photographs and didn't just take them. Her 1930s pictures of New York City and of Paris socialites are still well known, and hers were the first images used to illustrate theories of physics. Her life was enthralling, even if her story ended, as Abbott claimed, 20 years before her death at 93, when she purchased a home in Maine and lived these years in near solitude. Not only have Abbott's honest portraits and remarkable cityscapes been celebrated since the 1960s, but some of her inventions are still used by photographers. The reproductions are outstanding, featuring crisp lines and deep detail. Quotes from Abbott offer foundational support for imaging workshops, though it is unclear whether high school students will be captivated enough by the prosaic writing to grasp fully the impact that this artist had on modern imaging techniques.-Jodi Kearns, University of Akron, OH (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Horn Book Review
(Middle School, High School) One of the groundbreaking photographers of the twentieth century comes to life in a compelling, generously illustrated biography. It's unlikely that readers will approach this book with much familiarity with Abbott, but Sullivan ably presents both woman and work within appropriate social, artistic, and technological contexts, all the while making the case that she deserves a place in the photographic pantheon. Her early, unhappy youth in Ohio receives scant treatment, buttressing her reputation as a fierce guardian of her privacy; her homosexuality is gracefully indicated and then let go in favor of a focus on her work. From her rise to acclaim as a portrait photographer in 1920s Paris, to her almost obsessive quest to document New York City in the 1930s, to her reinvention of herself as an illustrator of scientific principles during the Cold War, Abbott emerges as a woman doggedly determined to succeed on her own terms. Abbott's own photographs appear in abundance, backing up the narrative's claims in striking full-page views. That these are not always in sync with the text is but a small quibble in a book otherwise so thoroughly instructive and inspiring. Acknowledgments, chapter notes, a bibliography, and an index complete the picture. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
Kirkus Review
Berenice Abbott was a "fierce champion of photographic realism." Though a renowned portrait photographer in Paris in the late 1920s, her landmark accomplishment was her Changing New York series, documenting the growth of New York City in the 1930s. This gorgeously produced volume is a fine celebration of the work of an important American artist. Beautifully reproduced photographs, many full-page, are a record of Abbott's work and are, at the same time, a cultural history for young readers. The prose is lively and engaging, clearly the work of a writer passionate about his subject. Sullivan does a fine job of recreating the political and artistic temperament of the times and presenting the life of a woman who pursued her art with determination and courage. Extensive source notes and bibliography round out a fascinating volume that will introduce Abbott to young readers. A fine companion to Elizabeth Partridge's Restless Spirit: The Life and Work of Dorothea Lange (1998) and Susan Goldman Rubin's Margaret Bourke-White (1999). (acknowledgments, index) (Nonfiction. 10-14) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
Gr. 6-9. Born in Ohio in 1898, Abbott made her way to Greenwich Village in 1918, and then to Paris, where she found her calling in photography, which she practiced with uncommon drive and an uncompromising sense of purpose for 60 years, primarily in New York City. In the 1930s she received financial support from the Federal Art Project for an ambitious project called Changing New York, traveling through Manhattan, photographing its streets, buildings, shops, and houses with the straightforward realism that characterized all her work. Later projects included science photography and teaching. Sullivan brings together an enormous amount of information about Abbott and presents it in a clear, thoughtful manner. Through discussions of Abbot's life and work, Sullivan reveals her personal strengths and shortcomings as well as establishing the scope and significance of her accomplishments. Large, clear reproductions of Abbott's photos appear throughout the book, and readers looking for more examples are referred to books as well as an online resource. Back matter includes source notes for the many quotes used and an extensive list of books and interviews. A fine portrait of a significant photographer that will partner well with Restless Spirit (1998), Elizabeth Partridge's biography of Dorothea Lange. --Carolyn Phelan Copyright 2006 Booklist
