Magnetic Field

In addition to her well-known portraiture work and documentary photography, Abbott was an innovator in the use of photography to document scientific phenomena. Beginning in the late 1940s and until shortly before her death, she made scientific images.

In the late 1950s, Abbott was asked to work with scientists at MIT to create photographic images that could be used for teaching physics. In collaboration with the scientists, she utilized her artistic imagination to develop innovative techniques to document the principles of physical science. Those photographic illustrations made visible the principles of mechanics, electromagnetism, and waves.