Diane Arbus: Woman with a Locket in Washington Square Park NYC

 Estate stamp on print verso. Signed in ink by Doon Arbus, for the Estate of Diane Arbus

Diane Arbus was an American photographer who became world famous for her black and white photographic portraits, often of people who were marginalised within society.

The portrait of the young woman we see here was shot in a park in Greenwich Village in 1965. She’s seated on a park bench, looking into the distance with a pensive, perhaps even a melancholic gaze. Her pale skin and bleached hair contrast heavily with her darkly made up eyes and eyebrows giving her an almost eerie appearance and the portrait as a whole contains a tension that elevates the image and makes the onlooker wonder about what is captivating her thoughts.

The gelatin silver print was masterfully made by her hand, further elevating the photograph as an object.