Tempo of the City I
About this Brooklyn Icon
The Brooklyn Museum is commemorating its 200th anniversary by spotlighting 200 standout objects in its encyclopedic collection.
This black-and-white photograph is a treasured memory of 1930s New York by Berenice Abbott, one of the greatest documentary photographers of her time. It was taken on Fifth Avenue and 44th Street in Manhattan on a spring day in 1938, capturing in an instant both the solidity of the city’s buildings, darker in the background, and its restlessness at street level. The photograph is particularly striking because of the perspective from above: a high-angle shot that enhances the crowd’s movement and feeling of urban frenzy; the photographer is closest to the dominating clock, infusing the image with a cinematic intensity.
Tempo of the City I was part of Abbott’s larger effort, called Changing New York, to document the city during the Great Depression, a time when hundreds of 19th-century buildings were being rapidly demolished and replaced by skyscrapers. The series was supported in part by the Federal Art Project, a New Deal program begun in 1935, which provided Abbott with a monthly salary, an assistant, and a car (among other things). With this historic documentary series, Abbott became one of the most well-known American photographers.
Caption
Berenice Abbott American, 1898–1991. Tempo of the City I, May 13, 1938. Gelatin silver print, 7 9/16 x 7 5/16 in. (19.2 x 18.6 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn Museum Collection, X858.28. No known copyright restrictions
Tags
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Artist
Title
Tempo of the City I
Date
May 13, 1938
Medium
Gelatin silver print
Classification
Dimensions
7 9/16 x 7 5/16 in. (19.2 x 18.6 cm)
Markings
Stamped on verso: "Federal Art Project 'Changing New York'"; "Place: Fifth Avenue & 44th St., Manhattan/ Angle of View"; "Neg. #R-1 Code iii.B.I"
Credit Line
Brooklyn Museum Collection
Accession Number
X858.28
Rights
No known copyright restrictions
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