Berenice Abbott’s Modern Lens begins with Abbott’s earliest portrait photography, taken in 1920s Paris while working as an assistant in the legendary Man Ray’s studio. Writers, musicians, artists, publishers, and socialites—many of whom lived visibly queer lives, like Abbott herself—all found themselves looking through her discerning lens as she captured a sense of the rapidly changing social landscape. The exhibition also highlights Abbott’s pivot from photographing people to photographing architectural and urban subjects. Her celebrated images of New York City, taken after returning from Paris, document the fleeting essence of an urbanism in flux. Much less well-known are Abbott’s photographs of tidy row houses in Albany and proud old mansions in the suburbs of Boston. Viewed alongside her Parisian portraits, Abbott’s skill in capturing the authentic character of these places is apparent.