--- description: The work of Berenice Abbott, who photographed Depression-era New York, is featured in a new exhibition at Toronto's Art Gallery of Ontario and an accompanying book. title: New York, Cocteau and a Parabolic Mirror: 'Berenice Abbott: Photographs' image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc7db367e6470385e/69879e57428a9e269ecc8fdf/parabolic-mirror-1958-61-300dpi.jpg?branch=production&width=1920&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [LightBox](/tag/time-section-lightbox/) ## LightBox Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # New York, Cocteau and a Parabolic Mirror: 'Berenice Abbott: Photographs' by [Feifei Sun](/author/feifei-sun/) ## Feifei Sun Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close May 23, 2012 6:00 PM CUT  Parabolic Mirror, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1958 – 1961 Parabolic Mirror, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1958 – 1961Berenice Abbott / Courtesy of Editions Hazan and Yale University Press by [Feifei Sun](/author/feifei-sun/) ## Feifei Sun Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close May 23, 2012 6:00 PM CUT Though she went to Paris in 1921 to study sculpture, Berenice Abbott would transition to photography when she became Man Ray’s assistant in 1923\. Three years later, she set up her own studio, photographing the French capital’s bohemians, artists and intellectuals—and famous friends such as writers James Joyce and Jean Cocteau—before moving back to the States in 1929. For the next two decades, Abbott focused her lens on Depression-Era New York, producing a number of moving, black-and-white images that would become part of her book _Changing New York_. This series, along with nearly 120 other images, is being featured in a new exhibition at Toronto’s Ryerson Image Center called _Berenice Abbott: Photographs_. “She was an underestimated photographer during her life and even today,” says Gaelle Morel, the exhibition’s curator and author of the accompanying book, _Berenice Abbott_. “But Berenice has this capacity of mixing different aesthetics, depending on the subject, which was really extraordinary. She can do a more modern, New Vision style when it came to photographing New York buildings, or take a more documentary approach for her portraits.” Abbott gained acclaim for her own comprehensive career, which would later involve photographic work on physics, commissioned by Boston’s Massachusetts Institute of Technology. But she also became famous for her staunch support of French photographer Eugène Atget, whom she met in 1925 while living in Paris. Atget died two years later, and it was Abbott who would photo-edit a book of his work and help stage an exhibition of his work in New York. She sold her Atget collection to the Museum of Modern Art in 1968. “Berenice always said she had two careers—one of her own, and one championing Atget,” Morel says. “She wanted to be recognized as the Atget of New York, not necessarily his aesthetic, but his intellect.” [Berenice Abbott: Photographs](http://www.ryerson.ca/ric/exhibitions/babbott.html "undefined")_, co-organized by_ [_The Ryerson Image Centre in Toronto_](http://www.ryerson.ca/ric/ "undefined") _and the_ [_Jeu de Paume in Paris_](http://www.jeudepaume.org/?%5Flangue%5F=english "undefined")_,_ _is on view through Aug. 19 at Toronto’s Art Gallery of Ontario_. _The accompanying book is published by_ [_Editions Hazan_](http://www.editions-hazan.fr/ "undefined") _and_ [_Yale University Press_](http://yalebooks.co.uk/exhibitions%5Fdisplay.asp?K=e2012011614565841 "undefined")_._  Nightview, New York City, 1932 Berenice Abbott / Courtesy of Editions Hazan and Yale University Press  Photomontage, New York City, 1932 Berenice Abbott / Courtesy of Editions Hazan and Yale University Press  El, Second and Third Avenue Lines, Bowery and Division Street, New York City, April 24, 1936 Berenice Abbott / Courtesy of Editions Hazan and Yale University Press  Talman Street, Between Jay and Bridge Streets, Brooklyn, May 22, 1936 Berenice Abbott / Courtesy of Editions Hazan and Yale University Press  Blossom Restaurant, 103 Bowery, New York City, October 24, 1935 Berenice Abbott / Courtesy of Editions Hazan and Yale University Press  Jean Cocteau with Gun, 1926 Berenice Abbott / Courtesy of Editions Hazan and Yale University Press  Eugène Atget, Paris, 1927 Berenice Abbott / Courtesy of Editions Hazan and Yale University Press  Multiple exposure of swinging ball, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1958–1961 Berenice Abbott / Courtesy of Editions Hazan and Yale University Press  Multiple Beams of Light, 1946 – 1960 Berenice Abbott / Courtesy of Editions Hazan and Yale University Press  Interference pattern, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1958–1961 Berenice Abbott / Courtesy of Editions Hazan and Yale University Press  Parabolic Mirror, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1958 – 1961 Berenice Abbott / Courtesy of Editions Hazan and Yale University Press  Anonymous Portrait of Berenice Abbott at MIT, 1959 Courtesy of Editions Hazan and Yale University Press ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3788731/berenice-abbott-photographs/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3788731/berenice-abbott-photographs/"},"headline":"New York, Cocteau and a Parabolic Mirror: 'Berenice Abbott: Photographs'","datePublished":"2012-05-23T18:00:47.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T04:41:05.213Z","description":"The work of Berenice Abbott, who photographed Depression-era New York, is featured in a new exhibition at Toronto's Art Gallery of Ontario and an accompanying book.","url":"https://time.com/3788731/berenice-abbott-photographs/","keywords":["LightBox","History","New York","photography","Toronto","book","Out There","exhibition"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc7db367e6470385e/69879e57428a9e269ecc8fdf/parabolic-mirror-1958-61-300dpi.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Feifei Sun","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/feifei-sun/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc7db367e6470385e/69879e57428a9e269ecc8fdf/parabolic-mirror-1958-61-300dpi.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Parabolic Mirror, 1958-61, 300dpi","caption":"Parabolic Mirror, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1958 – 1961","creditText":"Berenice Abbott / Courtesy of Editions Hazan and Yale University Press","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-lightbox/","name":"LightBox"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3788731/berenice-abbott-photographs/","name":"New York, Cocteau and a Parabolic Mirror: 'Berenice Abbott: Photographs'"}}]}] ```