“We create our buildings and then they create us. Likewise, we construct our circle of friends and our communities and then they construct us.”
~ Frank Lloyd Wright
(1867-1959)
Berenice Abbott was one of the great 20th-century photographers. Her initial ambition was to become a sculptor, but after being Man Ray’s apprentice and protégé, she discovered her defining passion—photography. After many years in Europe, Abbott returned to New York, where she was commissioned to document the changing architectural landscape of the city, culminating in her publication Changing New York.
This portrait is a lesser-known gem in her body of work that I first came across by accident almost 25 years ago. In a way, it seemed like destiny for Abbott to meet such a seminal architect, Frank Lloyd Wright, who was staying at the Plaza Hotel. The photo was taken on the eve of the opening of his masterpiece, the Guggenheim Museum. As Wright once said, “The longer I live, the more beautiful life becomes.”
