Street scene, vers 1930

The tightly framed, seemingly banal Street Scene, Circa 1930 focuses on the façade of one of the many opulent houses that sprang up in 1930s New York. But the graphic line of a bare tree in front of the building seems to become the picture’s real subject.

In 1935, photographer Berenice Abbott began a huge project that led to the book "Changing New York", dedicated to the urban evolution of the American metropolis. Setting out to photograph every New York façade, old and new, she wanted the project, despite its apparent sobriety, to have both an artistic and a documentary aspect.

Street Scene, Circa 1930 was presented for the first time by the Pinault Collection at the 2019 "Luogo e Segni" ("Place and Signs") show at the Punta della Dogana in Venice.