Skip to main content

Diane Arbus: American Portraits

Heide Museum of Modern Art 

21 March 17 June 2018 


Art Gallery of South Australia, SA
16 July – 30 September 2018


The National Gallery of Australia’s touring exhibition, Diane Arbus: American Portraits.




Diane Arbus, Boy with a straw hat waiting to march in a pro-war parade, N.Y.C., 1967 1967. Gelatin silver photograph. National Gallery of Australia, Canberra. Purchased 1980.


The photographs of Diane Arbus (1923–71) are among the most widely recognised in the history of photography. Her images stand as powerful allegories of post-war America, and once seen are rarely forgotten. Works such as

Identical Twins, Roselle, Nj, 1967, 1967 by Diane Arbus

 Identical twins, Roselle, N.J., 1967

Child with a toy hand grenade in Central Park, N.Y.C.

and Child with toy hand grenade, in Central Park, New York City have been described as two of ‘the most celebrated images in the history of the medium’.

Featuring 35 of Arbus’s most iconic and confrontational images from 1961–71, this exhibition examines the last decade of Arbus’s life and the period in which her style is in full flight. Her work has polarised viewers who question whether she exploited or empowered her subjects, who were often drawn from society’s margins.



Diane Arbus. Mae West on bed 1965 gelatin silver photograph. <br/> National Gallery of Australia, Canberra. Purchased 1981. 
Diane Arbus, Mae West on bed 1965. Gelatin silver photograph. National Gallery of Australia, Canberra. Purchased 1981.


Diane Arbus, Patriotic Young Man with a Flag, N.Y.C. @artsy

Diane Arbus. Patriotic young man with a flag, N.Y.C. 1967 gelatin silver photograph.
National Gallery of Australia, Canberra. Purchased 1980.

Diane ARBUS, Woman with a beehive hairdo 1965


Diane Arbus. Woman with a beehive hairdo 1965, gelatin silver photograph, National Gallery of Australia, Canberra . Purchased 1981. 

 

Arbus’s photographs will be exhibited alongside a selection of works by other leading American photographers.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Vatican Micromosaic of Saints Valeria and Martial, Rediscovered Masterpiece

Vatican Micromosaic of Saints Valeria and Martial Everyone loves a good story. In the realm of fine art and antiques, a good story, or what we call “provenance”, has the power to take a work of art from exceptional to awe-inspiring. In terms of workmanship, subject matter and sheer size, this incredible micromosaic detailing the Biblical story of Saints Valeria and Martial has it all. Measuring over 10 feet tall, the precision and detail required to execute such a piece is baffling. Combined with the high cost of materials, micromosaics of this immense size and artistry are beyond rare. When you factor in its provenance of being crafted by the prestigious Vatican’s Mosaic Studio and displayed in St. Peter’s Basilica, you’re dealing with an undeniable masterpiece of historical significance. It took a team of seven skilled mosaicists over two and a half years to complete this majestic masterpiece. Given that Vatican relics, especially ones on such a grand scale as this, almost never lea...
Post a Comment
Read more

Klimt and Schiele: Drawn

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston February 25 through May 28, 2018 Marking the centenary of the deaths of Gustav Klimt (1862–1918) and Egon Schiele (1890–1918), the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (MFA), presents a special exhibition of drawings on loan from the Albertina Museum in Vienna. Klimt and Schiele: Drawn , on view from February 25 through May 28, 2018 in the Lois B. and Michael K. Torf Gallery, examines the separate, yet parallel experiences of the acclaimed Austrian modernists, as well as the compelling ways in which their work relates—particularly in their provocative depictions of the human body. Organized thematically, the selection of 60 works on paper extends from the artists’ early draftsmanship to explore how each shifted away from traditional training to more incisive and unconventional explorations of humanity over the course of their careers. The MFA is one of three museums—and the only U.S. venue—hosting exhibitions of the Albertina’s rarely loaned drawings b...
Post a Comment
Read more

Grant Wood: American Gothic and Other Fables

Grant Wood's American Gothic—the double portrait of a pitchfork-wielding farmer and a woman commonly presumed to be his wife—is perhaps the most recognizable painting in 20th century American art, an indelible icon of Americana, and certainly Wood's most famous art work. But Wood's career consists of far more than one single painting. Grant Wood: American Gothic and Other Fables brings together the full range of his art, from his early Arts and Crafts decorative objects and Impressionist oils through his mature paintings, murals, and book illustrations.
Post a Comment
Read more