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Diane Arbus Portrait Photography

American, 1923-1971

Diane Arbus might’ve been born into New York City’s high society, which was protected from the horrors of the Great Depression, but she preferred to live life on the fringe of it. There she met the subjects of her now-iconic portrait photography — “eccentrics” such as circus performers, people with developmental disabilities and addicts.

Arbus didn’t start out photographing these people, however. She and her husband, Allan, whom she wed when she was just 18, developed a shared interest in photography after he served as a photographer during World War II. When he returned, the couple shot fashion spreads for Arbus’s family’s department store, eventually having their work published in glossy magazines.

Having studied under photographers Berenice Abbott, Alexey Brodovitch and Lisette Model, Arbus then pursued her interest in documentary work in the 1950s, taking to the streets of New York to photograph strangers. By 1962, she was shooting from the waist with a medium-format camera. She didn’t want the camera to block her connection to her subjects, which were now the people marginalized by society rather than fashion models. “For me the subject of the picture is always more important than the picture. And more complicated,” Arbus explained.

Before her death by suicide in 1971, when she was just 48 years old, Arbus had achieved acclaim for her works such as Child With Toy Hand Grenade in Central Park, N.Y.C. (1962) and Identical Twins, Roselle, N.J. (1967). She was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1963 and 1966 and had her work shown in the monumental 1967 group exhibition “New Documents” at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA). Posthumously, her fame only broadened. MoMA put on a solo show for the artist in 1972, and, in the same year, Aperture published her first monograph.

Today, Arbus’s photographs are in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam and the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, among many other institutions.

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Artist: Diane Arbus
Girl in a Shiny Dress, NYC
By Diane Arbus
Located in Saint Louis, MO
Diane Arbus Girl in a Shiny Dress, NYC, 1967 Gelatin silver print Image Dimensions: 14.5 x 14.5 inches (36.8 x 36.8 cm) Paper Dimensions: 20 x 16 inches ...
Category

1960s Contemporary Diane Arbus Portrait Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Camp Lakecrest campers as trees, Dutchess County, NY
By Diane Arbus
Located in New York, NY
Camp Lakecrest campers as trees, Dutchess County, NY 1968 Estate stamped and signed by Doon Arbus for the Estate of Diane Arbus, verso Gelatin silver...
Category

1960s Contemporary Diane Arbus Portrait Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

Puerto Rican woman with a beauty mark
By Diane Arbus
Located in New York, NY
Estate stamped and signed by Doon Arbus for the Estate of Diane Arbus, verso Gelatin silver print (Edition of 75) 20 x 16 inches, sheet 14.875 x 14.375 inches, image Contact galle...
Category

1960s Contemporary Diane Arbus Portrait Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

A young man and his girlfriend with hot dogs in the park, N.Y.C. 1971
By Diane Arbus
Located in New York, NY
Gelatin silver print (Edition of 75) Estate stamped and signed by Doon Arbus for the Estate of Diane Arbus, verso Also titled, dated, and numbered in black ink, verso 20 x 16 inche...
Category

1970s Other Art Style Diane Arbus Portrait Photography

Materials

Silver Gelatin

New York City, Widow in Her Bedroom, 55th St, Iconic Photography by Diane Arbus
By Diane Arbus
Located in New york, NY
A Widow in Her Bedroom, 55th St, NYC, 1963 by Diane Arbus is a vintage gelatin silver print, printed by the photographer. The subject, a widow, is dressed in a shiny dress...
Category

1960s Contemporary Diane Arbus Portrait Photography

Materials

Photographic Film, Photographic Paper, Silver Gelatin

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Previously Available Items
Muscle man contestant, N.Y.C.
By Diane Arbus
Located in New York, NY
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1960s Contemporary Diane Arbus Portrait Photography

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Woman with Eyeliner, NYC
By Diane Arbus
Located in New York, NY
Gelatin silver print (Edition of 75) Estate stamp, verso Also signed in ink by Doon Arbus, executor of the Estate of Diane Arbus, verso 20 x 16 inches, sheet size This artwork is ...
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1960s Modern Diane Arbus Portrait Photography

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Silver Gelatin

Transvestite at Her Birthday Party
By Diane Arbus
Located in New York, NY
Gelatin silver print (Edition of 75) Estate stamp in black ink, verso Also signed in ink by Doon Arbus, executor of the Estate of Diane Arbus, verso 20 x 16 inches, sheet size 14.5...
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1970s Modern Diane Arbus Portrait Photography

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Young couple on a bench in Washington Square Park, NYC
By Diane Arbus
Located in New York, NY
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Two Girls in Matching Bathing Suits, NYC
By Diane Arbus
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1960s American Realist Diane Arbus Portrait Photography

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Diane Arbus portrait photography for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Diane Arbus portrait photography available for sale on 1stDibs. You can also browse by medium to find art by Diane Arbus in silver gelatin print, film, paper and more. Much of the original work by this artist or collective was created during the 20th century and is mostly associated with the contemporary style. Not every interior allows for large Diane Arbus portrait photography, so small editions measuring 11 inches across are available. Customers who are interested in this artist might also find the work of Richard E. Aaron, Bruce Weber, and Danny Clinch. Diane Arbus portrait photography prices can differ depending upon medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $55,000 and tops out at $55,000, while the average work can sell for $55,000.

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