Diane Arbus' photography presents sincere images of prostitutes, cross-dressers, circus sideshows, the mentally challenged, and other fringe characters, as well as darkly toned images of families, children, and American socialites.
Read MoreArbus' own work was first published by Esquire in 1960, in a photo essay that captured aspects of New York nightlife, which she called The Vertical Journey: Six Movements of a Moment Within the Heart of the City. Included in this selection of images were people from all strata of society, from a socialite attending a Grand Opera Ball benefit to a 'Jungle creep', a street performer who put on shows with other 'freaks' in Times Square.
Arbus subsequently became the art director of Harper's Bazaar in 1961. That year, the magazine also published six of her portraits in an editorial titled 'The Full Circle'. In both magazine series, Arbus accompanies the photos with text telling the stories of these characters. Establishing strong personal connections with her subjects, Arbus distinguished herself from the norm of distance that defined documentary photography at the time.
In the early 1960s, Arbus moved from using a 35mm camera to a medium-format Rolleiflex camera with a flashgun. This marked a major development in 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 considered in 1960s America to be freaks or outcasts, often taken very close up. Much of her photography was taken on the streets or in the parks of New York.
In 1967, Arbus, who had already twice received the John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship in 1963 and 1966, famously exhibited in the New Documents exhibition at The Museum of Modern Art, New York. One of only three photographers to do so, her 32 works attracted significant attention from the press, including Newsweek and The New York Times.
Among the subjects of these images are families from the suburbs, individuals off the street of New York, couples, children—including several twins—cross-dressers, nudists, circus acts, and celebrities. All presented in stark black-and-white, the images paint a picture of American post-war society across all levels of social standing.
Arbus' photographs from the last years of her life were a culmination of her interest in eccentricity, anomalous identity, and groups on the fringes of society. Her 'Untitled' series (1970–71) centres around a home for developmentally disabled adults in Vineland, New Jersey. The photographs are taken outdoors with the subjects in moments of enjoyment, roaming freely in natural surrounds under grey skies instead of being portrayed as hemmed in by institutional walls.
Currently there are no artworks available from our member galleries, however Ocula Advisory may have a number works which they can potentially offer for private sale.
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