Diane Arbus was born in New York City in 1923. She began working in commercial photography in the mid 1940s and later opened a studio with her husband Allan Arbus. The fashion photography they created together was commissioned by leading fashion magazines such as Harpers Bazaar and Vogue. However by 1957 Diane Arbus was dissatisfied with the resultant commercial constraints and left their business to study under photographers Berenice Abbott and Lisette Model, as well as with the highly influential graphic designer Alexey Brodovitch. Her own work was first published by Esquire in 1960, in a photo essay which captured aspects of New York nightlife, which she called Vertical Journey. Arbus subsequently became the art director of Harpers Bazaar in 1961.
Read MoreIn the early 1960s she moved from using a 35mm camera to a medium format Rolleiflex camera with a flashgun. This was a major influence on the development of her style and vision, which was characterised by a directness and fascination with people on the outskirts of society. This resulted in startling portraits of people (often very close up) considered in 1960s America, (for example, giants, dwarves and transvestites) to be freaks or outcasts. Much of her photography was captured on the streets or in the parks of New York.
She received the John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship in 1963 and 1966. In 1967 she famously exhibited in the New Documents exhibition at The Museum of Modern Art, New York- one of only three photographers to do so. She was the first American photographer to be included in the Venice Biennale (her work appeared posthumously, in 1972). Diane Arbus died in New York in 1971.
A major retrospective of her work was held at the Museum of Modern Art; from 1972 — 1975 that subsequently toured the United States and Canada. A full-scale retrospective entitled Revelations travelled to museums in Europe and the United States, including the Victoria & Albert Museum, London (2005—2006). Arbus's work appeared in Anthony d'Offay's Artist Rooms collection in 2009, presented by the National Museum Cardiff. Recently, a retrospective entitled Diane Arbus toured Europe 2011-2013, appearing at the Jeu de Paume, Paris; the Fotomuseum, Winterthur; Martin-Gropius-Bau, Berlin; and Foam, Amsterdam. Public collections of her work are held at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; The Museum of Modern Art, New York; Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles; Tate Modern, London; and Centre Pompidou, Paris.
Arbus's work has featured in major publications, such as: Diane Arbus (Aperture, 1972); Magazine Work (1984); Untitled (Aperture, 1995); Diane Arbus Revelations (Jonathan Cape, Random House, 2003); and Diane Arbus: A Chronology (Aperture, 2011).
Ocula | 2017
Ocula Feature Peter Hujar: The Show Must Go On By Laurie Barron, London At Maureen Paley in London, photographs by Peter Hujar capture New York City's nocturnal drag scene between 1970 and 1987.
Related Press The Evolution of Diane Arbus in 35mm 21 April 2017, Hyperallergic In 1962, documentary photographer Diane Arbus switched from using a 35mm camera to a medium-format Rolleiflex, which offered higher resolution images in a distinctive square format. This equipment change coincided with developments in her practice that propelled her to international fame. Her work from the early 1960s through her death in 1971 is...
Related Press Diane Arbus: In the beginning 6 September 2016, Juxtapoz Magazine 'I do feel I have some slight corner on something about the quality of things. I mean, it’s very subtle and a little embarrassing to me, but I believe there are things which nobody would see unless I photographed them.' —Diane Arbus
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Related Press The start of Diane Arbus 8 August 2016, Whitewall diane arbus: in the beginning showcases a city explored within the years of 1956 and 1962. Framed images of a hauntingly provocative nature are displayed singularly on thin paneled walls. The work highlighted has never been seen before from photographer, and offer a telling glimpse of her budding career.
Related Video & Audio A Luta Continua. The Sylvio Perlstein Collection 8 May 2018, Hauser & Wirth Unfolding across all three floors of Hauser & Wirth New York, 22 nd Street, A Luta Continua is the first United States presentation of the Sylvio Perlstein Collection. Curated by David Rosenberg, the exhibition presents more than 360 works by some 250 artists. Among these are Josef Albers, Carl Andre, Diane Arbus, Hans Bellmer, André...
