Antique Shop at Greenwich Avenue, vers 1930

The title of Antique Shop at Greenwich Avenue, Circa 1930 is self-explanatory. At first the eye is drawn to the repetition of the crockery items lined up behind the window, but then it is attracted by the proudly posing, smiling shopkeeper gazing off into the distance, who becomes the composition’s real subject.

This photograph, which looks like an ordinary documentary shot, belongs to the huge project Berenice Abbott undertook during the 1930s, "Changing New York". She took thousands of pictures during many walks through the expanding American metropolis. Abbott’s goal of making a true social portrait of the city did not limit her to the picturesque. On the contrary, she sought to capture New Yorkers’ daily lives and include them as often as possible in her shots.

Antique Shop at Greenwich Avenue, Circa 1930 was presented for the first time by the Pinault Collection at the "Luogo e Segni" ("Place and Signs") exhibition at the Punta della Dogana in Venice in 2019.