What new perspective does the Lily Tomlin and Jane Wagner collection offer on Diane Arbus' work?

The collection reframes Arbus' work as illuminating the strangeness within the ordinary, highlighting the performative nature of social interactions and portraits, rather than focusing solely on deviance.

What specific photographs are mentioned as part of the new perspective on Diane Arbus?

Photographs such as 'Courtship, Teenage Couple, Hudson St, 1963', 'Two Ladies at the Automat, NYC, 1966', and 'Four People at a Gallery Opening, NYC' are highlighted to showcase Arbus' focus on self-consciousness and social performance.

When and where can one see the Lily Tomlin & Jane Wagner collection related to Diane Arbus?

The collection is featured at Bonhams New York with an online sale from March 31 to April 9, 2026, and a live auction on April 8, 2026.

Home / Arts and Entertainment / Arbus' True Vision: Ordinary People, Extraordinary Self-Awareness

Arbus' True Vision: Ordinary People, Extraordinary Self-Awareness

8 Mar

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Summary

Arbus' work reframed as highlighting strangeness in the ordinary.
Collection owned by Lily Tomlin and Jane Wagner offers new insights.
Photographs showcase universal self-consciousness and social performance.

Arbus' True Vision: Ordinary People, Extraordinary Self-Awareness

Diane Arbus' iconic photography is being re-evaluated, moving beyond the common perception of her as a documenter of 'freaks' and societal outsiders. A collection owned by Lily Tomlin and Jane Wagner offers a new perspective, suggesting Arbus illuminated the inherent strangeness within the ordinary aspects of life. Her images reveal the performative nature of social interactions and portraiture, capturing universal self-consciousness.