Manhattan Bridge, Looking Up by Berenice Abbott
Manhattan Bridge, Looking Up by Berenice Abbott

Manhattan Bridge, Looking Up

Berenice Abbott
$40.00
Size

Add Custom Frame

Frames ship to U.S. addresses only. Framed prints ship in 2–4 weeks and are final sale. Full framing details

Add Custom Frame

Frames ship to U.S. addresses only. Framed prints ship in 2–4 weeks and are final sale. Full framing details

Add Custom Frame

Frames ship to U.S. addresses only. Framed prints ship in 2–4 weeks and are final sale. Full framing details

Add Custom Frame

Frames ship to U.S. addresses only. Framed prints ship in 2–4 weeks and are final sale. Full framing details
Artist Statement

Shot in 1936, Manhattan Bridge, Looking Up sucks us straight in. Berenice Abbott’s composition and use of light and line evoke awe of the mechanical structure above. Though we’re used to the Manhattan Bridge being part of the New York City skyline, it was barely thirty years old when Abbott photographed it for her series Changing New York. It certainly must have felt like the city was changing around her as Brooklyn and Manhattan became even more closely connected.

Why We Love It

It’s easy to take bridges for granted. We speed across (or more appropriately for New Yorkers, we pay a toll then crawl slowly across) from point A to point B without much thought. But with Berenice Abbott’s Manhattan Bridge, Looking Up, we’re once again reminded of the steadfastness and stateliness of bridges: the feats of engineering, their role as literal and symbolic representations of interconnectivity, and all the different ways in which they appear in our lives.

Abbott’s eye-catching photograph is extra special to us here at 20x200 as we peer out at this very structure everyday from HQ. We’ve been nestled under these iconic towers for several years now, surrounded by so many other creative companies and inspiring vistas! And yes, those Washington Street Instagrammers too. 😏

We’re thrilled to add another compelling Berenice Abbott image to our growing collection of Vintage Editions. These images shape our vision of the future and history—and look pretty dang spectacular on our walls as well.

Details

+ Limited-edition, exclusive to 20x200
+ Museum quality: archival inks, 100% cotton rag paper unless noted
+ Handcrafted custom-framing is available

Our quoted dimensions are for the size of paper containing the images, not the printed image itself. We do not alter the aspect ratio, nor do we crop or resize the artists’ originals. All of our prints have a minimum border of .5 inches to allow for framing.

Medium

Innova Exhibition Photo Baryta

Edition Structure:
10"x8" | edition of 10 
14"x11" | edition of 150
20"x16" | edition of 25
30"x24" | edition of 10
Artist - Berenice Abbott

Berenice Abbott

Berenice Abbott was an American photographer best known for her black and white photography of New York City architecture and urban design of the 1930s. Abbott was born in Springfield, Ohio. She attended the Ohio State University, but left in early 1918. Abbott went to Europe in 1921, spending two years studying sculpture in Paris and Berlin. In addition to her work in the visual arts, Abbott published poetry in the experimental literary journal transition. Abbott first became involved with photography in 1923, when Man Ray, looking for somebody who knew nothing about photography and thus would do as he said, hired her as a darkroom assistant at his portrait studio in Montparnasse. In 1926, she had her first solo exhibition (in the gallery Au Sacre du Printemps) and started her own studio on the rue du Bac. In early 1929, Abbott visited New York and was struck by its photographic potential. She moved to the city and began work on her New York project, which she worked on independently until 1935, when she was hired by the Federal Art Project as a project supervisor for her Changing New York project. She continued to take the photographs of the city, but she had assistants to help her both in the field and in the office. This arrangement allowed Abbott to devote all her time to producing, printing and exhibiting her photographs. By the time she resigned from the FAP in 1939, she had produced 305 photographs that were then deposited at the Museum of the City of New York.