The International Center of Photography (ICP) presents Eugène Atget: The Making of a Reputation, an exhibition exploring how Eugène Atget (1857–1927) became established as a central figure in modern photography, largely through the persistent dedication of Berenice Abbott. Bringing together historic prints from ICP’s collection with seminal publications and archival materials, the exhibition revisits Abbott’s decisive influence in shaping Atget’s legacy—an effort that at times overshadowed recognition of her own distinguished career.

Although Atget did not live to witness his later acclaim, Abbott proved to be an essential steward of his work, illustrating how artistic histories are often built through advocacy. Over the final decades of his life, Atget undertook an extensive photographic survey of Paris and its outskirts, creating a vast visual archive during a period of rapid urban change. From celebrated monuments to modest structures; from shop windows and stairways to iron details and street vendors; from parks and trees to the city’s shifting edges—his images record both the physical reality and the quiet poetry of a transforming landscape.

Abbott’s path to photography began in 1923, when she met Man Ray while working as a young sculptor and soon became his studio assistant. She encountered Atget in 1926, as his studio was located near Man Ray’s. The following year she made three portraits of him, though he died before seeing them. While some of Atget’s photographs entered the Paris municipal archives, Abbott acquired much of the remaining material and, without expectation of financial return, immediately began promoting his work, convinced of its lasting artistic value. Her role as Atget’s principal advocate reached a turning point in 1968, when her collection—1,415 glass negatives and approximately 8,000 vintage prints—was acquired by the Museum of Modern Art in New York, which then assumed responsibility for advancing Atget’s legacy.

Curated by ICP Creative Director David Campany, Eugène Atget: The Making of a Reputation concentrates on the period between Atget’s uncredited appearance in La Révolution Surréaliste in 1926 and the publication four years later of ATGET: Photographe de Paris, the first book devoted to his work, organized by Abbott. The exhibition presents three interconnected forms of dissemination: magazines that featured his images, photographic prints drawn primarily from ICP’s holdings, and selections prepared for the book. Together, these elements reveal how Atget’s photographs were interpreted, contextualized, and positioned within the emerging narrative of modern photography.

“Every photographer needs someone who believes in their work,” said Campany. “Eugène Atget had Berenice Abbott—and without her dedication, much of his contribution might have been forgotten.”

About the Author

Eugène Atget (1857–1927) was a French photographer renowned for his extensive documentation of Paris and its surrounding districts. He produced images for painters, architects, and theatrical designers, while also creating photographs of notable formal sophistication. His subjects ranged from grand architecture to everyday street life, including storefronts and workers.

Often photographing in the early morning, Atget favored soft, diffused light and expansive compositions that lend his images a quiet sense of ambiguity. Beyond their aesthetic qualities, his photographs serve as vital historical records, capturing neighborhoods that would soon be altered or erased by modernization. Admired by artists such as Man Ray—who featured one of Atget’s photographs on the cover of La Révolution Surréaliste—Atget’s work was later preserved and championed by Berenice Abbott, who exhibited it widely, wrote about it, and promoted him for decades as a precursor of modern photography.

Eugène Atget : The Making of a Reputation
January 29-May 4, 2026
The International Center of Photography  – New York – USA

More info:

www.icp.org