Berenice Abbott /

Had the 20th-century photographer Berenice Abbott (1898-1991) been a man, her remarkable achievements would be more widely known and appreciated. That goes without saying in a patriarchal era and milieu. Nonetheless, few photographers have engaged such wide-ranging creative investigation or had such a fundamental impact on modernist photography in realms technical, aesthetic, social, and art historical. This catalogue by Morel (Ryerson Image Centre, Toronto) of an exhibition held at Paris's Jeu de Paume and at the Ryerson, strikingly claims that this is the first solo exhibition of the photographer's work in France and Canada. This is even more surprising, considering Abbott's prominence as an art and literary world participant and portraitist in Paris during the 1920s. While the catalogue follows a standard structure that links Abbott's chronology to stylistic and thematic endeavors by decade, it offers a selection of less frequently seen images in each section. It features supplemental and documentary information, including portraits of the artist by her cohort, and photo album pages and research notes from her encyclopedic documentation of New York City. Assembled by three scholars and introduced by two museum directors--all women--this is a welcome reward, indebted to Abbott's pioneering efforts. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Lower-level undergraduates through researchers/faculty; general readers. E. Baden Warren Wilson College