New York at Night Abbott, Berenice  (American, 1898-1991)

"I took this early in the evening; there was only one time to take it, shortly before Christmas.  I started in about 4:30 pm and did not have much time. But I had done a good deal of prior planning on the photograph, going so far as developing a special soft developer for the negative.  This is a fifteen minute exposure and I am surprised that 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 5pm when the people began to go home, and so it had to be correct on the first try. In this case I was at a window, not at the top of the building; there would have been too much wind outside.  It was, of course, hard to get permission.  They always thought you wanted to commit suicide and superintendents were always tired, lazy and annoyed." Berenice Abbott 

"Nightview, New York", 1932 by Berenice Abbott was produced as a dust grain photogravure in an edition of 125 numbered copies, 25 artist proofs, and 25 copies not for sale, which have been reserved for the collaborators and friends of this production. This print has been created in conjunction with the two-volume monograph Berenice Abbott published by Steidl and Commerce Graphics.