A Young Man In Curlers at Home on West 20th Street N.Y.C.
Artist
Diane Arbus
(American, 1923–1971)
Date1966
Mediumgelatin silver print (printed on Agfa projection paper)
Dimensions38.5 × 38.8 cm (15 3/16 × 15 1/4 in.)
ClassificationsPhotographs
Credit LineGift of Mr. and Mrs. Hall James Peterson
Terms
Object number1974.28
DescriptionOne of a box of ten photographs in an edition of 50, selected and designed by Diane Arbus in 1970, published subsequently by her daughter, Doon Arbus, with photographs printed by her former student, Neil SelkirkLabel TextFollowing a 20-year career in fashion photography, in 1956 Diane Arbus gave up commercial work, took her first course with Lisette Model, and began to concentrate on photographing people – in public places, in their homes – an interest she pursued until her death in 1971. Driven by an empathetic curiosity, she typically chose strangers as subjects but through time spent together Arbus transformed them into intimates. Arbus’s inscription for this photograph is matter-of-fact: “A young man in curlers dressing for an annual drag ball.” But the subject’s emotional availability, comfort, and engagement with the photographer suggest a true collaboration. Likewise, Arbus’s close vantage point denies us any sense of distance.ProvenanceGift of Mr. and Mrs. James Hall Peterson, Clamber Hill, Petersham, MA
On View
Not on view
