Diane Arbus

Diane Arbus (1923–1971) was an American photographer whose uncompromising portraits of society’s fringes redefined the possibilities of photographic portraiture. Born into New York’s affluent Nemerov family—owners of Russek’s Fifth Avenue fur salon—she married Allan Arbus in 1941 and together they built a successful commercial studio, producing fashion spreads for Vogue and advertising agencies under the name “Diane & Allan Arbus.”

Growing restless with the constraints of fashion work, Arbus left the partnership in the late 1950s and embraced the 35 mm camera Allan had given her. She wandered the streets of New York in search of subjects “beyond the bubble” of her upbringing: twins, transvestites, circus performers, and other outsiders whose presence challenged conventional notions of normalcy. Her empathetic yet direct style—often shot in square format and framed tightly—captured both vulnerability and defiance in equal measure.

Throughout the 1960s Arbus’s exhibitions at institutions like the Museum of Modern Art and solo shows at the Guggenheim introduced her stark, confrontational images to a wider audience. Though she struggled with depression and took her own life in 1971, her work found enduring acclaim posthumously. Her photographs are now cornerstones of collections at MoMA, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Art Institute of Chicago, and her influence remains central to contemporary documentary and portrait photography.