Online Auction 19790The Unseen Eye: Photographs from the W.M. Hunt Collection
DIANE ARBUS (1923–1971)
Lot 7

DIANE ARBUS (1923–1971)

Anderson Hays Cooper (The Vanderbilt Baby), 1968

Closed14 October 2020

Price Realised

USD 10,625

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DIANE ARBUS (1923–1971)
Anderson Hays Cooper (The Vanderbilt Baby), 1968
gelatin silver print, printed later by Neil Selkirk
stamped 'A Diane Arbus photograph', signed, titled, dated and numbered '60/75' by Doon Arbus, Administrator, in ink, stamped Estate copyright credit and annotated in pencil (verso); credited, titled and dated on affixed exhibition labels (mat, verso)
image: 14 ¾ x 14 ¾ in. (37.4 x 37.4 cm.)
sheet: 20 x 16 in. (50.8 x 40.6 cm.)
This work is number sixty from an edition of seventy-five.

Janet Borden, New York;
acquired from the above by the present owner, 1985.

Specialist note

'When I first encountered this portrait, I thought the child had the most Buddha-like unreadable and otherworldly presence. He is so still yet seems to glow with blissful innocence and knowingness; he is mystical and mute. The photograph is also changeable in its evocativeness; sometimes the baby seems serene, sometimes diabolical or at least mischievous. Diane Arbus had an uncanny talent for demonstrating the potential for darkness in innocence. Plus, the whole thing is luscious.
Look, look, look. You have to look. The classic American photographer Walker Evans insisted: ‘Stare. It is the way to educate your eye, and more. Stare, pry, listen, eavesdrop. Die knowing something . You are not here long .’' – W.M. Hunt

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