Sumner Healy's Antique Shop, Third Avenue, New York, 1936

The busts and sculptures in Sumner Healy's Antique Shop, Third Avenue, New York, 1936 give it a poetic, timeless, surreal quality. However, decorative furniture, a sign and the title give this odd, cut-off scene a rational context.

Passionate about Eugène Atget’s iconoclastic work, in the early 1930s American photographer Berenice Abbott developed a similar project devoted to New York, where she lived. Entitled "Changing New York", the ambitious body of work she built up during her walks in the burgeoning metropolis is nearly exhaustive. She shot old façades and soaring skyscrapers, charming shopfronts and private interiors with both documentary and artistic intent.

Sumner Healy's Antique Shop, Third Avenue, New York, 1936 was first exhibited by the Pinault Collection at the 2019 "Luogo e Segni" ("Place and Signs") show at the Punta della Dogana in Venice.