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

Diane Arbus: Portrait of a Photographer brings into focus with vividness and immediacy one of the great American artists of the twentieth century. Arbus comes startlingly to life on these pages, a strong-minded child of disconcerting originality who grew into a formidable photographer of unflinching courage. Arbus forged an intimacy with her subjects that has inspired generations of artists. 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 exploring her life. Lubow draws on exclusive interviews with Arbus’s friends, lovers, and colleagues; on previously unknown letters; and on his own profound critical insights into photography to explore Arbus’s unique perspective and to reveal important aspects of her life that were previously unknown or unsubstantiated. 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 secrets 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, and leading her to create a new kind of photographic portraiture charged with an unnerving complicity between the subject and the viewer.

Diane Arbus: Portrait of a Photographer brushes aside the clichés that have long surrounded Arbus and her work. It is a magnificently absorbing biography of this unique, hugely influential artist.黛安-阿勃丝的权威传记，她是二十世纪最有影响力和最重要的摄影师之一，这本精彩而引人入胜的书将她非凡的人生轨迹与她的标志性摄影作品联系起来。

《黛安-阿勃丝：一个摄影师的肖像》以生动和直接的方式将二十世纪伟大的美国艺术家之一带入人们的视野。阿巴斯在这些书页上令人震惊地展现了她的生命力，一个具有令人不安的原创性的坚强孩子，成长为一个具有坚定勇气的可怕的摄影师。阿巴斯与她的拍摄对象建立了一种亲密的关系，激励了几代艺术家。她的照片引人入胜、令人不安、令人感伤，在我们的脑海中留下了深刻的印象。为什么这些人让她着迷？又是什么让他们着迷？

如果不探究阿勃丝的生活，就不可能理解她的照片所具有的迷惑力。卢博利用对阿巴斯的朋友、恋人和同事的独家采访，利用以前不为人知的信件，以及他自己对摄影的深刻批判性见解，探索阿巴斯的独特视角，揭示她生活中以前不为人知或未经证实的重要方面。他巧妙地追踪了阿巴斯的发展，从一个富有的、性早熟的自由精神，首先是一个成功的纽约时尚摄影师，然后是一个独特的艺术家，从她的对象那里哄骗秘密。卢博揭示，阿巴斯不仅需要看到她的拍摄对象，而且需要被他们看到，这促使她与这些人建立异常密切的联系，帮助她发现他们每个人内心的幻想、痛苦和英雄主义，并引导她创造一种新的摄影肖像，在拍摄对象和观看者之间形成一种令人不安的共谋关系。

《黛安-阿勃丝：一个摄影师的肖像》将长期以来围绕着阿勃丝和她的作品的陈词滥调抛在一边。这是一部关于这位独特的、具有巨大影响力的艺术家的令人赞叹的传记。