Looking Back: Diane Arbus, 1958–1970

Photographer Diane Arbus (American, 1923–1971) is recognized for her singular way of seeing—honest, direct, and often disquieting. The works on view span her career, from early 35 mm street photographs to the later square-format portraits that became her hallmark and include both personal projects and editorial assignments. While she photographed primarily in New York, Arbus also traveled for specific stories—beauty pageants, nudist camps, family gatherings, and institutions—seeking people in moments when public display and private being intersect.

Looking Back: Diane Arbus 1958–1970 presents twenty vintage photographs drawn from an extraordinary gift by San Francisco’s Fraenkel Gallery through the generosity of Jeffrey Fraenkel. Part of a larger group of thirty-six prints recently donated to the JSMA, the exhibition offers a focused view of one of the twentieth century’s most debated and influential photographers. Seen together, these prints trace the evolution of Arbus’s vision and the curiosity that defined her practice.

In 2003, art critic Hilton Als observed that “Arbus asked us to look harder and with more honesty than we might have wanted to. In doing so, she made the act of looking itself a kind of moral education.” Her photographs embody the conviction that sustained attention may uncover what often goes unseen. Arbus once wrote, “I do feel I have some slight corner on something about the quality of things... I really believe there are things which nobody would see unless I photographed them.”

Looking Back invites us to experience Arbus’s photographs as seen at the time of their making, and now in our own. Her subjects—those who once looked back at her—still meet our gaze across decades. Each image holds two moments: the one it records and the one in which we, as viewers confront them today. Looking Back is curated by Thom Sempere, JSMA Associate Curator of Photography.