Diane Arbus: Revelations

Diane Arbus redefined the concerns and the range of the art she practiced. Her bold subject matter and photographic approach have established her preeminence in the world of the visual arts. Her gift for rendering strange those things we consider most familiar, and uncovering the familiar within the exotic, enlarges our understanding of ourselves.

Diane Arbus Revelations affords the first opportunity to explore the origins, scope, and aspirations of what is a wholly original force in photography. Arbuss frank treatment of her subjects and her faith in the intrinsic power of the medium have produced a body of work that is often shocking in its purity, in its steadfast celebration of things as they are. Presenting many of her lesser-known or previously unpublished photographs in the context of the iconic images reveals a subtle yet persistent view of the world.

The book reproduces two hundred full-page duotones of Diane Arbus photographs spanning her entire career, many of them never before seen. It also includes an essay, “The Question of Belief,” by Sandra S. Phillips, senior curator of photography at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, and “In the Darkroom,” a discussion of Arbuss printing techniques by Neil Selkirk, the only person authorized to print her photographs since her death. A 104-page Chronology by Elisabeth Sussman, guest curator of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art show, and Doon Arbus, the artists eldest daughter, illustrated by more than three hundred additional images and composed mainly of previously unpublished excerpts from the artists letters, notebooks, and other writings, amounts to a kind of autobiography. An Afterword by Doon Arbus precedes biographical entries on the photographers friends and colleagues by Jeff L. Rosenheim, associate curator of photographs at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. These texts help illuminate the meaning of Diane Arbuss controversial and astonishing vision.

"Revelations' broad view is deepened by its extraordinary central text, a detailed chronology, based primarily on the artist's own letters and notebooks, that her daughter Doon calls 'a kind of autobiography.'" The Village Voice

Featuring 562 color photos, Revelations is an intimate and comprehensive study of the work of one of the most powerful photographers of the 20th century.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 330-343) and index.

Diane Arbus — born Diane Nemerov in New York City in 1923 — first began taking pictures in the early 1940s following her marriage to Allan Arbus. She studied photography with Berenice Abbott, Alexey Brodovitch, and Lisette Model. Her first published photographs appeared in Esquire in 1960. Over the next ten years her work continued to appear in Esquire, Harper?s Bazaar, and other magazines. A year after her death in 1971, her work was selected for inclusion at the Venice Biennale — the first work of an American photographer to be so honored.

The question of belief / Sandra S. Phillips — A chronology / Elisabeth Sussman and Doon Arbus — In the darkroom / Neil Selkirk — Afterword / Doon Arbus — Biographies / Jeff L. Rosenheim.