Berenice Abbott

mounted, signed in pencil on the mount, the photographer's Maine studio stamp on the reverse, framed, 1932, printed later (Steidl, Vol. II, cover, frontispiece, and p. 35)

Ron Kurtz, ed., Berenice Abbott, Vol. II, Göttingen, 2008, cover, frontispiece, and p. 35

This photograph is in generally excellent condition. There is faint graphite offsetting on the mount. The photographer's studio stamp on the reverse of the mount reads as follows: 'BERENICE ABBOTT / ABBOT, MAINE 04406 / ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.' This photograph is framed.
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.

Arguably Berenice Abbott’s most famous photograph, New York at Night was taken on a December evening in midtown Manhattan from an upper-story window of the Empire State building.  ‘It was, of course, hard to get permission [to photograph in the building],’ Abbott wrote.  ‘They always thought you wanted to commit suicide and superintendents were always tired, lazy and annoyed.  They usually had to be bribed.’  Once she had set her camera up in the building, Abbott then had to grapple with the technical difficulties of making the image.  ‘I started about 4:30 p.m. and didn’t have much time.  But I had done a good deal of prior planning on the photograph, going so far as to devise a special soft developer for the negative.  This was a fifteen-minute exposure and I’m surprised the negative is as sharp as it is because these big buildings do sway a bit.  I knew I had no opportunity to make multiple exposures because the lights would start to go out shortly after 5:00 p.m. when the people began to go home and so it had to be correct on the first try’ (quoted in Berenice Abbott, Vol. II, p. 34).