Diane Arbus: A Box of Ten Photographs

In May 1971, Artforum, bastion of late modernism, featured the work of a photographer for the very first time. On its cover and in a six-page spread, it published selections from Diane Arbus's portfolio, A box of ten photographs. In the words of the magazine's editor and photography skeptic, Philip Leider, "The portfolio changed everything . . . one could no longer deny [photography's] status as art." At the time of Arbus's death, two months later, only four of the intended edition of fifty had been sold. Two had been purchased from Arbus by Richard Avedon (the first for himself, the second as a gift for his friend Mike Nichols); another was purchased by Jasper Johns; and a fourth by Bea Feitler, art director at Harper's Bazaar. Arbus signed the prints in all four sets; each print was accompanied by an interleaving vellum slip-sheet inscribed with an extended caption. For Feitler, Arbus added an eleventh photograph, A woman with her baby monkey, N.J. 1971.

Acquired by the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, DC, in 1986--and the only one of the four completed and sold by Arbus that is publicly held--that portfolio is the subject of an exhibition on view at the museum from April through September 2018. This exceptional book replicates the nature of Diane Arbus's original and now legendary object. Smithsonian curator John P. Jacob, who has unearthed a trove of new information in preparing the book and exhibition, weaves a fascinating tale of the creation, production, and continuing repercussions of this seminal work.
Published by Aperture in association with the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, D.C.
In 1971, with an advertisement in the June issue of Artforum, Diane Arbus announced the offering of her limited-edition portfolio, A box of ten photographs. At the time of her death, one month later, only four were sold. Two were purchased from Arbus by Richard Avedon; another by Jasper Johns. The last of the four was purchased by Bea Feitler, art director at Harper's Bazaar. Arbus signed the prints in all four sets, and each was accompanied by an overlying vellum sheet inscribed with an extended caption. For Feitler, Arbus added an eleventh photograph. This is the first publication to focus exclusively on A box of ten photographs, using the eleven-print set that Arbus assembled for Feitler. It was acquired by the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, D.C., in 1986, and is the only one of the four portfolios completed and sold by Arbus that is publicly held.

This publication examines this unique object as the sole body of images selected by Arbus herself, and considers its legacy as a key document of her enduring impact on contemporary photographic practice. An in-depth essay features new and compelling scholarship by John P. Jacob, the McEvoy Family Curator for Photography at the Smithsonian American Art Museum. The book is published in conjunction with the exhibition Diane Arbus: A box of ten photographs, on view at the museum from April through September of 2018.
Diane Arbus (1923-1971) revolutionized the terms of the art she practiced. Five volumes of her work have been published posthumously and have remained continuously in print: Diane Arbus: An Aperture Monograph (1972), Diane Arbus: Magazine Work (1984), Untitled: Diane Arbus (1995), Diane Arbus: A Chronology (2011), and Diane Arbus Revelations (Random House, 2003).
John P. Jacob is the Smithsonian American Art Museum's McEvoy Family Curator for Photography; he joined the curatorial staff in 2015. Prior to that, Jacob was vice president and director of the Inge Morath Foundation and program director at the Magnum Foundation's Legacy Program. John P. Jacob lives in Washington, D.C.