Abigail Heyman

Who is Abigail Heyman?

Abigail Heyman was an American feminist and photojournalist, known for her 1974 book, Growing Up Female: A Personal Photo-Journal.

Heyman was born in Danbury, Connecticut, to real estate developer Lazarus Heyman and Annette Heyman. She attended Sarah Lawrence College, graduating in 1964, and embarked on a career as a photographer. Her first photography exhibit was in 1972, and in 1974 she published the book that won her acclaim, Growing Up Female: A Personal Photo-Journal. She soon after published another book, this time focusing on working women: Butcher, Baker, Cabinetmaker.

In the late 1970s Charles Harbutt invited Heyman to join Magnum Photos, one of the first women to be so invited. In 1981, Heyman, along with Harbutt, Mark Godfrey, Mary Ellen Mark, and Joan Liftin, co-founded Archive Pictures, a cooperative agency. In the 1990s, Heyman joined the International Center of Photography in Manhattan as director of the documentary and photojournalism department.

She was married twice, and had one son, Lazar Bloch.