Diane Arbus – Women in Photography Spotlight January 30, 2015

March is National Women’s History Month. Our blog will be honoring women in photography this month to celebrate women’s contributions to the photography world. Today’s feature is on Diane Arbus. 

Diane Arbus

If you like the images you see in “People of New York,” you might also be interested in American photographer Diane Arbus’ work. Arbus was a street photographer who’s images of people in New York City showed a unique and profound view of the city’s population—a very different population than she photographed while working in the fashion industry.

Photographer Diane Arbus

Arbus’ photographic sensibility was fearless and nuanced. She photographed people in non-glamorous locations, showing the sometimes solemn, sometimes bizarre people living in otherwise obscurity within the city. Her subjects were often people who were marginalized due to poverty, lifestyle choices, or physical imperfection. Her portraiture work emphasized the story of the subject, told in an instant. She wanted to show private reality over the accepted “public face” of NYC.

Sadly, Arbus’ empathy, which shines through in her images, was both a gift and a curse. She struggled with depression, and ended her life in 1971.

To see Arbus’ work, check out her page on the Atget Gallery: http://www.atgetphotography.com/The-Photographers/Diane-Arbus.html

Child with hand grenade

Thanks to our editor, Maggie, for putting this profile together!