Eugene Atget timeline
1857-born in Libourne, France
1897-begins his career in photography, during which time he viewed himself as a skilled worker rather than an artist. His was a documentary career in which he made a living selling his work to city administrations, architects, and decorators. For his photographs, he used a plate camera on a tripod and contact printing paper normally gold toned. His lens was slightly wide angle. Before involving himself in photography, he had pursued acting and painting.
1926-meets Berenice Abbot who greatly appreciated his work and took upon herself the responsibility of publicizing his work.
1927-dies, leaving approximately 2000 8"x10" glass plates and almost 10,000 prints, not counting the plates deposited in the Palais Royale archives.
"HIS WORK IS A SIMPLE REVELATION OF THE SIMPLEST ASPECTS OF HIS ENVIRONMENT (...) THE ATGET PRINTS ARE DIRECT AND EMOTIONALLY CLEAN RECORDS OF A RARE AND SUBTLE PERCEPTION, AND REPRESENT PERHAPS THE EARLIEST EXPRESSION OF TRUE PHOTOGRAPHIC ART."-Ansel Adams
SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY:
EUGENE ATGET (MASTERS OF PHOTOGRAPHY SERIES)
THE ATGET REPHOTOGRAPHIC PROJECT