Arbus, Diane, << dee AN >> , (1923-1971), was an American photographer known for her powerful pictures of society’s outsiders. Arbus said that she wanted to portray people “without their masks.” She photographed people on the streets of New York City, sideshow freaks, and people who dress in the clothing of the opposite sex. The often grotesque black-and-white images created a feeling in the viewer that was both sympathetic to the subjects and eerie.
Arbus was born Diane Nemerov into a wealthy family in New York City on March 14, 1923. Her brother was the American poet and critic Howard Nemerov. Diane married photographer Allan Arbus in 1941. They worked together as fashion photographers until 1957. Arbus then rejected the conventions of fashion photography and began to photograph a wide variety of people and activities in the New York City area. She produced the ironic pictures that established her as one of the most distinctive photographers of her time.
Arbus was a free-lance photographer and photography instructor in the 1960’s. She separated from her husband in 1960, and they divorced in 1969. Arbus suffered from depression late in her life and committed suicide on July 26, 1971, at the age of 48.
