Berenice Abbott (American, 1898-1991) Moosehead Lake

Description:

Berenice Abbott (American, 1898-1991)

Moosehead Lake, likely 1966, printed sometime between 1967 to early 1980s. Signed "BERENICE ABBOTT" in pencil on the mount l.r., artist's Maine hand-stamp on the mount verso. Gelatin silver print, image size 10 1/4 x 13 1/4 in. (26.0 x 33.7 cm), matted, unframed.
Condition: Minor scratches to emulsion, extremely minor narrow abrasion l.r., extremely minor accretion along coastline at right.

N.B. While Abbott's photographic output is largely remembered for her documentation of an increasingly metropolitan New York, upon the advice of her doctor she moved away from the city for her health later in life. She purchased a house in Maine in 1956, moving there permanently in 1966. She continued to photograph her surroundings extensively, and her signature bird's-eye view of city streets and buildings translated into aerial shots of shimmering Maine coastline. Soon after her move, she was approached by the publishing company MacMillan to create a series of photographs to be set alongside text by Chenoweth Hall in a book on Maine. With the book contract, she took to the skies via plane, capturing the state's vast beauty as seen here in Moosehead Lake. The images included in A Portrait of Maine demonstrate Abbott's deep appreciation for the way of life in rural Maine and embody a quiet reverence for the land, work, and people of the area.

Literature: Berenice Abbott, A Portrait of Maine (New York: The MacMillan Company, 1968), pp. 14-15.
Estimate $500-700