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Metropolitan Museum Scores Arbus Archive

Priceless gift includes thousands of negatives, annotated prints

By Caroline Miller, Newser Staff

Posted Dec 18, 2007 9:10 AM CST

(Newser) – Two years after New York's Metropolitan Museum mounted a landmark Diane Arbus retrospective, the photographer's daughters have donated her complete archives to the museum, reports the New York Times. The gift includes 7,500 rolls of film, hundreds of early photographs, and print sleeves Arbus annotated by hand before she committed suicide in 1971.

The bequest coincides with the Met's purchase of 20 iconic Arbus photographs, which the museum acquired from a San Francisco gallery that represents the estate. Experts estimated the price of the photos at around $5 million, but the value of the archive is incalculable. "Generally this kind of material doesn’t survive the artist," said a curator.

An advertisement for the Diane Arbus retrospective's tour to Minneapolis. The photographer's daughters have donated her complete archive to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. ((c) Andrew Ciscel)

Arbus's estate has donated her personal archives to the Met. (Wikimedia Commons)

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Priceless gift includes thousands of negatives, annotated prints

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Behold the World's Priciest Photo

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He claims Bolsheviks stole it from his family in 1918

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Artifact team will hunt for Imperial Gardens booty

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Priceless gift includes thousands of negatives, annotated prints

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OTHER STORIES ON OUR RADAR

art • photography • Diane Arbus • Metropolitan Museum of Art

MOST POPULAR STORIES

[ By Views ]

[ By Comments ]

More Newser Stories

Behold the World's Priciest Photo

It sold for $4.3M this week

Frenchman to Met: Gimme Back My Cezanne

He claims Bolsheviks stole it from his family in 1918

Met Yanks Mohammed Art

Is Metropolitan Museum of Art getting jihad jitters?

China To Scour Museums for Looted Art

Artifact team will hunt for Imperial Gardens booty

First Lady Praises Arts on NYC Visit

Michelle attends ballet gala, reopening of Met's American wing

About Us

Site

Newser By Users

Community

Site Maps

Tools

More News

What is Newser?