BERENICE ABBOTT had an astonishing range of work— from taking portraits while she lived in Paris to documenting the transformation of architecture in New York City to photographing science experiments.“ She was a straight-ahead, no-nonsense, throw-beer-cans-out-the-car-window kind of girl who did not philosophize,” says Hank O’ Neal, music producer, author, and photographer who worked closely with Abbott for the last 19 years of her life. You can see for yourself. Abbott’ s legendary work will be exhibited at The Manton Research Center at the Clark Art Institute from July 12 to October 5, with additional photos shown during a special talk on August 13. The Clark was gifted 402 of Abbott’ s photographs in 2007 by famed photographers Arthur Penn and Paul Katz, who worked with her in the 1980s to create the prints for a publication that never was realized. Not only did that fortunate twist of fate present the opportunity for Berenice Abbott’ s Modern Lens to be exhibited at the Clark, but it enabled the Clark to significantly expand their photography collection, which former Director Michael Conforti and former Curator James Ganz started focusing on in the late 1990s.
B y L a u r a M a r s
THE CLARK PRESENTS BERENICE ABBOTT’ S EXTRAORDINARY PHOTOS
Hank O’ Neal, Berenice Abbott- Last Portrait, Monson, Maine, July 17, 1991( not in the Clark’ s exhibition); and Berenice Abbott, Portrait of Peggy Guggenheim with daughter Pegeen, 1926, printed 1982, gelatin silver print. Gift of A & M Penn Photography Foundation by Arthur Stephen Penn and Paul Katz, 2007.2.211 Berenice Abbott / Premium Archive via Getty Images
BERENICE ABBOTT had an astonishing range of work— from taking portraits while she lived in Paris to documenting the transformation of architecture in New York City to photographing science experiments.“ She was a straight-ahead, no-nonsense, throw-beer-cans-out-the-car-window kind of girl who did not philosophize,” says Hank O’ Neal, music producer, author, and photographer who worked closely with Abbott for the last 19 years of her life. You can see for yourself. Abbott’ s legendary work will be exhibited at The Manton Research Center at the Clark Art Institute from July 12 to October 5, with additional photos shown during a special talk on August 13. The Clark was gifted 402 of Abbott’ s photographs in 2007 by famed photographers Arthur Penn and Paul Katz, who worked with her in the 1980s to create the prints for a publication that never was realized. Not only did that fortunate twist of fate present the opportunity for Berenice Abbott’ s Modern Lens to be exhibited at the Clark, but it enabled the Clark to significantly expand their photography collection, which former Director Michael Conforti and former Curator James Ganz started focusing on in the late 1990s.
“ It is such a broad representation of her work in both portraiture and city views and other kinds of architecture and landscapes,” says Anne Leonard, Manton Curator of Prints, Drawings, and Photographs.“ It was a prescient acquisition because it sits very much at the center of the kind of collecting the Clark wants to do across the entire collection in 2025, which is more representation of women artists and more 20th century.” Abbott’ s photographs have been shown on occasion in the past at the Clark, but a comprehensive monographic show has never been done. It was challenging for Grace Hanselman, Curatorial Assistant for Works on Paper, to narrow down the photos for Modern Lens, but she did. The exhibit is comprised of 60 of Abbott’ s photographs. An additional 25 images of both portraits and architecturals will be discussed by Hanselman during the Highlights Talk: Berenice Abbott Bonus Selection. Unlike the Modern Lens exhibit, these photos will be unframed and displayed on easels, offering viewers the chance to see the images out from under the glass. The talk will be held at the Manton Study Center for Works on Paper on Wednesday, August 13, at 1 p. m. Modern Lens is not only a celebration of
Abbott’ s work, but it also marks the 100th anniversary of the start of her photography career. She was born in 1898 in Springfield, Ohio, and died at the age of 93 in 1991 in Monson, Maine. Abbott moved to Paris in 1921 to study sculpture with Emile Bourdelle— and added an extra“ e” to her birth name for its French spelling. In 1923, avant-garde photographer Man Ray was looking for an assistant with no knowledge of photography whom he could train. He hired Abbott as his darkroom assistant at his portrait studio. Impressed with her work, Ray eventually allowed her to use his studio to take her own photographs. And that is where Abbott’ s legacy began. Abbott opened her own Paris studio in 1927, where she continued to take intriguing portraits of Ray’ s fellow artists, including Djuna Barnes, James Joyce, and others.“ One of the most compelling things about Berenice Abbott ' s photography is her portraits of the LGBTQ community that she took when she was in Paris,” says Hanselman.“ They demonstrate the immensity of the contribution that queer people were making to modernism, both visual modernism and literary modernism. Portraits of LGBTQ individuals in Modern
May / June 2025 BERKSHIRE MAGAZINE // 77