Exhibition Opening and Reception at Boston Athenaeum: Developing Boston

Gallery doors will open at 5:30 pm before a short presentation by the exhibition’s curator Lauren Graves at 6 pm. Reception to follow.

Opening August 28, 2023 – December 30, 2023 in the Calderwood Gallery

From views of the Old State House, to the quiet streets of the West End and Beacon Hill, and squares, parks, and streets that no longer exist, this exhibition examines two documentary photographers who captured the development of Boston’s urban landscape in the mid-twentieth-century: Berenice Abbott and Irene Shwachman. Abbott, an acclaimed photographer, produced a 1934 photographic survey of Boston’s nineteenth-century buildings. Twenty-five years later, Shwachman, a lesser-known yet crucial city chronicler, began “The Boston Document” (1959–1968). This self-directed photographic series pictured Boston’s redevelopment.

Photographing at different times in Boston’s history, Abbott and Shwachman’s series each explore ways of viewing, dissecting, and preserving Boston. Abbott approaches Boston from a distance, offering stoic views, oscillating between straightforward and oblique angles. Shwachman, a student of Abbott’s, amended her teacher’s approach by photographing Boston through a personal, subjective lens to highlight the city’s dynamism.

Examining how the photographers consider presence, tempo, materiality, and change within the city, Developing Boston invites visitors to explore Boston’s past, present, and future, and find their place within the city. 

Registration is not required but appreciated. The Boston Athenaeum welcomes people of all abilities. With questions regarding accessibility, reach out to [email protected].

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