Barclay Street, Hoboken Ferry

1928–1929

Exhibitions of modernist photography in Brussels and Germany

Her portraiture stands out as unusual within the exhibitions of modernist photography held in 1928–1929 in Brussels and Germany. Her work was also shown in Paris alongside that of Man Ray, André Kertész and others, in the “Salon de l’Escalier” (the Premier Salon Indépendant de la Photographie) on the staircase of the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées.

early 1929

Travels to New York to find a publisher for Atget

In early 1929 she visits New York, ostensibly to find an American publisher for Atget’s photographs, and on seeing the city again recognises its photographic potential.

1929

Closes her Paris studio and returns to New York

Back in Paris she closes up her studio and in September 1929 returns to New York, where over the next decade she focuses on documentary photography and on portraying the city as it transforms into a modern metropolis. She brings over a large part of Atget’s archive; her first photographs are taken with a hand-held Kurt-Bentzin camera, soon replaced by a Century Universal producing 8 × 10-inch negatives.

1930

The book “Atget, photographe de Paris” is published

An early tangible result of her efforts is the 1930 book “Atget, photographe de Paris”, in which she is described as photo editor.

1930s

The idea behind “Changing New York”

Her project is primarily a sociological study embedded within modernist aesthetic practices, meant to show the interaction between the city’s diverse people, the places where they live, work and play, and their daily activities. Lewis Mumford’s historical writings of the early 1930s strongly influence her, and buildings of the “paleotechnic era” often look downright menacing in her photographs.

1933

Begins teaching at the New School for Social Research

From 1933 she supports herself with commercial work and teaching gigs at the New School for Social Research; for six years she works on her New York project independently, unable to get financial support from organizations such as the Museum of the City of New York, foundations such as the Guggenheim Foundation, or individuals.