Museum of Modern Art (New York, N.Y.)

Sarah Hermanson Meister

"How shall the two-dimensional print in black and white suggest the flux of activity of the metropolis, the interaction of human beings and solid architectural constructions, all impinging upon each other in time?" Picturing New York presents myriad answers to this question posed by photographer Berenice Abbott in the 1930s. Depicting the iconic New York that captivates the world's imagination and the idiosyncratic details that define New Yorkers' sense of home, this anthology of photographs from The Museum of Modern Art's extraordinary collection celebrates the city in all its vitality, ambition, and beauty. Made by artists responding to the city as well as professionals on assignment - including Berenice Abbott, Diane Arbus, Harry Callahan, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Walker Evans, Lee Friedlander, Helen Levitt, Lisette Model, Irving Penn, Cindy Sherman, Alfred Stieglitz, Weegee, and many more - the works reveal the deeply symbiotic relationship between photography and New York. Evocative excerpts from literary works about New York and a lively essay by Sarah Hermanson Meister, Associate Curator in the Department of Photography at MoMA, accompany the selection of classic images and lesser-known gems. Both an exploration of the life of the city and a documentation of photography's evolution throughout the twentieth century, Picturing New York celebrates the great and continuing tradition of capturing the grit and glamour of one of America's greatest urban centers.

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