Diane Nemerov Arbus (1923-1971) was born into a wealthy jewish family in Manhattan, NY. She was a photographer whose subjects might have been considered extreme, startling, macabre, even taboo for that time period. She shot misfits, transvestites, addicts, nudes, intellectually disabled...all that was considered the unlovely of society. Arbus wanted to "photograph the forbidden and was determined to reveal what others had turned their backs on", according to Arbus's eldest daughter, Doon Arbus.
Sadly in 1971 at age 48, struggling with long time depression, she committed suicide. By then, Arbus was a significant influence and well respected among serious photographers. She had won the Guggenheim Fellowship at age 40 and also had done work for several magazines during lifetime including Vogue, Glamour, Seventeen, Harper's Bazaar, Esquire, and The Sunday Times.
In 1972, the MOMA had a posthumous retrospective of Arbus's photography and Aperture came out with a monograph of her work which brought her great recognition.
To this day, Arbus is considered a major influence in modern photography.
