Short Synopsis
From Arthur Lubow, the definitive biography of the beguiling Diane Arbus, one of the most influential and important photographers of the twentieth century, a brilliant and absorbing exposition that links the extraordinary arc of her life to her iconic photographs.

Full Synopsis
Diane Arbus brings to life the full story of one of the greatest American artists of the twentieth century, a visionary who revolutionized photography and altered the course of contemporary art with her striking, now iconic images. Arbus comes startlingly to life here, a strong-minded child of unnerving originality who grew into a formidable artist. Arresting, unsettling, and poignant, her photographs stick in our minds. Why did these people fascinate her? And what was it about her that captivated them?

It is impossible to understand the transfixing power of Arbus's photographs without understanding her life story. Arthur Lubow draws on exclusive interviews with Arbus's friends, lovers, and colleagues to explore her unique perspective. He deftly traces Arbus's development from a wealthy, sexually precocious free spirit into first a successful New York fashion photographer, and then a singular artist who coaxed hidden truths from her subjects. Lubow reveals that Arbus's profound need not only to see her subjects but to be seen by them drove her to forge unusually close bonds with these people, helping her discover the fantasies, pain, and heroism within each of them.

"Narrator Coleen Marlo has a warm and friendly voice, and her pacing is just right for a work that is packed with information." ---Library Journal Audio Review

"Lubow sharply captures Arbus’ restlessness, pain, and artistic vision." ---Kirkus Starred Review

"Lubow provides not only a comprehensive assessment of her groundbreaking work but, perhaps more significantly, a revealing documentary of Arbus’s often-tortured life." ---Publishers Weekly Starred Review

"Lubow’s portrait is the most sharply focused, encompassing, and incisive to date." ---Booklist Starred Review

“Big, sharply focused, disturbingly intimate . . . Lubow chronicles Arbus’s rise and fall with a novelistic intensity that plumbs the decisive moments of a driven, unsettled soul . . . A major work.” ---USA Today

"Marlo presents Arbus’ life and work thoughtfully, with sensitivity, not sensationalism . . . A must-listen for photography buffs." ---Booklist Audio Review

Kirkus Review

Publishers Weekly Review

Booklist Review