Changing New York by Berenice Abbott is a significant photographic project documenting New York City's transformation during the 1930s. Abbott, an American photographer with a strong dedication to realism, embarked on this ambitious endeavor shortly after returning from an eight-year stay in Europe, where she was profoundly influenced by the avant-garde art scene. These experiences shaped her focus on capturing New York's rapidly evolving urban environment. Her return coincided with a pivotal moment in New York’s history, marked by a building boom that saw the rise of towering skyscrapers replacing the city’s 19th-century architectural fabric. Influenced by the documentary traditions of Eugène Atget, whom she greatly admired and whose work she helped preserve, Abbott’s project became a vivid chronicle of a metropolis in flux.
The project’s inception was deeply intertwined with the socio-economic upheaval of the Great Depression, which began shortly after Abbott’s return in 1929. Despite financial challenges, she persisted, and her dedication was eventually supported by the Federal Art Project in 1935. This sponsorship provided her with the resources to document over 300 urban scenes, ranging from bustling markets and immigrant neighborhoods to the towering skyscrapers of midtown Manhattan. Her focus was on the juxtaposition of old and new, the interplay of human-scaled spaces and monumental architecture, and the evolving identity of the city as it embraced modernity.
Abbott’s photographs are known for their precise compositions and realistic depiction of urban spaces. Employing a large-format camera and meticulous planning, she created images that are both technically precise and profoundly evocative. Abbott’s commitment to straight photography emphasized clarity and realism, avoiding embellishment in her depiction of subjects. Her use of high vantage points, symmetrical framing, and dramatic contrasts in lighting highlighted both the architectural grandeur and the urban realities of New York.
Abbott’s work not only documented the physical transformation of New York but also engaged with broader historical and cultural narratives. Influenced by historian Lewis Mumford’s critique of industrialization, she envisioned her photographs as a call for humane urban planning and a reflection on the challenges of rapid technological growth. By aligning her vision with the social aspirations of her time, Abbott’s project transcended mere documentation to become a critical commentary on the city’s development.
Changing New York gained visibility through key presentations: a 1934 solo at the Museum of the City of New York (extended into 1935), the expanded FAP exhibition Changing New York (MCNY, 1937), and inclusion in MoMA’s Photography, 1839–1937 and Art in Our Time (1939). Subsequent showings—a one-person exhibition at the 1940 San Francisco World’s Fair and a MoMA retrospective in 1970—reinforced its status as both historical record and formal study. Later recognition, including the International Center of Photography’s Lifetime Achievement Award (1989), has kept the project central to conversations about urban change and documentary practice.
