1994.16
Daily News Building, 42nd Street between 2nd and 3rd Avenue
Artist
Berenice Abbott, H 1982
(Springfield, Ohio, 1898 - 1991, Monson, Maine)
Title
Daily News Building, 42nd Street between 2nd and 3rd Avenue
Creation Date
1935
Century
20th century
Dimensions
9 1/2 in. x 7 1/2 in. (24.2 cm. x 19 cm.)
Classification
Photographs
Creation Place
North America, United States
Medium and Support
gelatin silver print
Credit Line
Museum Purchase, Gridley W. Tarbell II Fund
Copyright
This artwork may be under copyright. For further information, please consult the Museum’s
Copyright Terms and Conditions.
Accession Number
1994.16
This photograph is part of Berenice Abbott’s “Changing New York” series, created through support of the Works Project Administration during the Great Depression. From this lofty viewpoint, Abbott captures the strikingly modern skyline of New York, including the Daily News Building, which was completed in 1930. While her contemporary Lewis Hine foregrounds the people building these structures, Abbott instead focuses on capturing the new perspectives that such buildings now afford. The grid lines of the city and the tilted angle of the photograph emphasize the height and sprawl of New York—it is huge, and it is growing. In the background, smoke billows up from factories, highlighting the ongoing “progress” of the city.