Berenice Abbott

inscribed 'Photo ABBOTT, 44 rue du Bac, Paris' in pencil on the reverse, 1927 (Steidl, Volume 1, p. 55)

Lieberman and Saul, New York

Collection of Barry Friedman, New York

Christie's New York, The Image as Object: Photographs from the Collection of Barry Friedman, 5 October 1998, Sale 9026, Lot 26

Acquired by the present owner from the above

This print is on double-weight paper with a very matte surface and lush warm-gray tones. Glue remains along the top edge of the reverse indicate that this print was at one time affixed to a mount. The print is in very good condition. There is faint age-appropriate silvering in the dark areas. There is some minor creasing in the lower right corner that breaks the emulsion slightly, and a similar – less noticeable – crease in the upper right corner. There is minor wear on the edges and corners of the print, which is trimmed to the image. In the lower left quadrant are two small old transparent accretions, possibly glue, visible only in raking light. The tiny 'D'-shaped mark in the lower right area appears to be either ink or retouching. While these issues bear mentioning, none of them is obtrusive, nor do they have a measurable negative impact on the overall fine appearance of this beautiful early print. A slightly roughened area on the reverse of the print suggests the removal of a label of some sort.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Berenice Abbott's progression from young American expatriate to one of the most significant photographers of the 20^th century began in Man Ray's Paris studio, where she took a job as the photographer's assistant in 1923.  After learning the craft, she set up her own studio in the city in 1926, on the rue du Bac, taking pictures of the avant-garde elite of the day, which included James Joyce, Janet Flanner, Peggy Guggenheim, André Gide, Edna St. Vincent Millay, and many others.  Among this group was the artistic polymath, Jean Cocteau, with whom Abbott collaborated extensively on some of the most creative portraits of her career.  A head-and-shoulders pose soon led to studies of Cocteau in trench coat and hat; Cocteau's hands on a mask, and folded over his hat; and Cocteau and a mask in bed, and so on.  The photograph offered here, in which Cocteau aims a pistol directly at the camera, is the shocking stand-out from the group, the others of which possess a quiet and dreamlike surrealism.  The picture has lost none of its impact over the many decades since it was taken. 

In 1926, at the Au Sacre du Printemps gallery, Abbott had her first one-person exhibition, all portraits, entitled Portraits Photographiques.  Cocteau composed a poem for the occasion, printed in the show's invitation, which he also designed. 

Cocteau served as an avid collaborative model for many photographers, and two very different, but equally inventive, photographs of him by Man Ray and Philippe Halsman appear in this sale as Lots 71, 115, and 130. 

Other prints of this image:

Berenice Abbott, Photographs (New York, 1970), p. 18

Hank O'Neal, Berenice Abbott: American Photographer (New York, 1982), p. 50

Berenice Abbott (Commerce Graphics, 1988), unpaginated

Berenice Abbott (Steidl, 2008), Volume 1, p. 55