09/14/2026
Recent Acquisition now on view in the Main Gallery!
We are delighted to announce the acquisition of Joueur d’Orgue (Organ-grinder) by Eugène Atget, printed by Berenice Abbott. This gelatin silver print brings together the legacies of two pioneering photographers. Atget devoted his career to documenting “Old Paris,” creating an extraordinary photographic record of its streets, architecture, interiors, and vanishing trades. This work belongs to his series of petits métiers—images of Parisian street workers posed with the tools and attributes of their trades.
Years later, in 1925, a young Berenice Abbott encountered Atget’s photographs in Man Ray’s Paris studio. Fascinated by the systematic and documentary nature of his work, Abbott developed a close relationship with Atget and ultimately preserved a vast portion of his photographic archive after his death. She later made modern prints from his negatives and championed his work in the United States, helping establish his enduring place in the history of photography.
We invite you to encounter this remarkable intersection of two photographic careers—and to discover Atget’s vivid vision of a changing Paris. Gift of Margaret and Frank Robinson (2026.1.1)
*Select photographs from Atget, Photographe de Paris can be viewed on the screen nearby.
Joueur d’Orgue (Organ-grinder), 1898–99, printed ca. 1956
Gelatin silver print
Eugène Atget (French, 1857–1927)
Printed by Berenice Abbott (American, 1898–1991)
