"Diane Arbus: A Chronology" is the closest
thing possible to reading a contemporaneous diary by one of the most
daring, influential, and controversial artists of the twentieth century.
Drawn primarily from Arbuss extensive correspondence with friends,
family, and colleagues; personal notebooks; and other unpublished
writings, this beautifully produced volume exposes the private thoughts
and motivations of an artist whose astonishing vision derived from the
courage to see things as they are and the grace to permit them simply to
be. Further rounding out Arbuss life and work are exhaustively
researched footnotes that amplify the entire Chronology. A section at
the end of the book provides biographies for fifty-five personalities,
family members, friends, and colleagues, from Marvin Israel and Lisette
Model to Weegee and August Sander. Describing the Chronology in Art in
America, Leo Rubinfien noted that Arbus...wrote as well as she
photographed, and her letters, where she heard each nuance of her words,
were gifts to the people who received them. Once one has been
introduced to it, the beauty of her spirit permanently changes and
deepens ones understanding of her pictures...The texts in "Diane Arbus: A
Chronology" originally appeared in Diane Arbus Revelations.
This volume makes this invaluable text available in an accessible,
paperback volume for the very first time.