A TALE OF TWO CITIES: EUGÈNE ATGET’S PARIS AND BERENICE ABBOTT’S NEW YORK

May 20-July 22, 2012

On loan from the Syracuse University Art Collection

A Tale of Two Cities: Eugène Atget's Paris and Berenice Abbott's New York examines the work of two early photographers, their inextricable link, and one of the most remarkable stories in the history of photography. Eugène Atget and Berenice Abbott were inspired by their surroundings within New York and Paris.

More than mere documentation, their photographs captured the cities at a point where old landmarks were rapidly disappearing. Atget illustrated the course of change through metaphors, while Abbott captured change with both juxtapositions. The result of both artists' works was a series of striking photographs that show a merging of old and new, and the effects of modernization on their city's architecture, transportation, residents and inherent culture.