10 Facts About Michael Abramson

Michael L Abramson was a Chicago photographer who produced a large body of artistic and commercial photography.

Michael Abramson earned a bachelor's degree from the Wharton School of Business in Philadelphia, but his life took a different turn when he was accepted at the Institute of Design at the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago, where he earned a master's degree in 1977.

Michael Abramson's thesis, "Black Night Clubs of Chicago's South Side," was a reflection and analysis of the photographs he took of patrons and performers in multiple nightclubs on Chicago's south side during the mid-1970s.

Michael Abramson's images have often been compared to those of the photographer Brassai, who captured Paris by night in the 1920s.

Michael Abramson decided to stay in Chicago, where for two years following graduation he taught photography as a part-time instructor.

Michael Abramson quickly realized that teaching was not his calling, but subsequently found satisfaction in freelance photography.

Michael Abramson had two brief marriages, both ending in divorce within two years.

Michael Abramson stipulated in his will that Wilson preserve his vintage photographs and act to insure his legacy.

Michael Abramson took a different tack by turning his lens on the gobsmacked photographers.

Today Michael Abramson's photographs are archived in permanent collections at the Smithsonian, Art Institute of Chicago, California Museum of Photography, Chicago History Museum, and the Milwaukee Art Museum.