Diane Arbus

Tirage argentique d'époque. Signé, titré et daté Triplets, New Jersey 1963 au crayon au verso. Monté sous passe-partout et encadré.

De l'artiste à Ann Ray Martin, 1967
Sotheby's New York, Photographs, 5 octobre 1994, lot 60
Collection particulière, Hong Kong

Diane Arbus: Revelations, San Francisco, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art/New York, Random House, 2003, ill. p. 85;
Diane Arbus, cat. expo., New York, The Museum of Modern Art/Aperture, 1972, ill. s.p.

This silver print is in good general condition. The paper is uniformly slightly yellowed, the image with light silvering along the edges.The print with numerous folds and creases mainly in the upper and right margins away from the image; with a very light handling fold in the lower right corner of the image and in the center of the upper edge of the image.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Diane Arbus’ interest in individuals with a distinct genetic makeup— from giants to midgets and as seen in this lot, triplets—was in synchrony with her attraction to social oddities and other marginalized characters. As a former student of Lisette Model in New York, herself renowned for her capturing of New York characters, Arbus drew further inspiration from the work of New Objectivity photographer August Sander, with his frontal, candid images. In Triplets in their Bedroom, N.J., Arbus produced an image that objectively and candidly portrays the subjects simply as they were, in the comfort of their own home. 

At first glance, the picture of the triplets could be a simple documentation of multiple births; but on further study, it becomes much more ominous. Although their faces are identical, the girls on either side look very solemn, while the middle one wears a faint smile. The bedroom itself reinforces the concept of repetition and multiplicity, from the patterns on the wall and bedspread to the rows of ruffles on the curtain. With a very subtle touch, Arbus has exposed and printed the photo so that the girls’ dresses blend into one dark shape, as though they were all emerging from one lower body.

 Arbus herself said of this image “Triplets remind me of myself when I was an adolescent. Lined up in three images: daughter, sister, bad girl, with secret lusting fantasies, each with a tiny difference” – Diane Arbus, A Biography, by Patricia Bosworth, 2006 (New York, W.W. Norton & Company, 1984).

L’intérêt majeur de Diane Arbus pour les individus que la génétique a voulu distinguer – des nains au géants, et ici même, les triplettes – était en concordance avec sa fascination pour le bizarre, l’étrange. En tant qu’élève de Lisette Model à New York, elle-même connue pour capturer les New-Yorkais, Arbus s’inspira également d’une figure importante de la Nouvelle Objectivité, August Sander, de par la frontalité et la sincérité de ses images. Dans Triplets in their Bedroom, N.J., Arbus a portraituré de la manière la plus sincère qui puisse, un sujet dans son confort le plus simple, sa chambre.

Au premier abord, cette photographie de triplettes pourrait être une simple documentation sur les naissances multiples; mais en s’y attardant un peu, cela s’avère en fait intrigant. Bien que leurs visages soient identiques, chacune a l’air solennelle à sa manière tandis que celle du milieu décroche un léger sourire. La chambre elle-même renforce l’idée de répétition, depuis le papier peint au mur jusqu’aux rangées de lits en passant par le drapé des rideaux. Avec subtilité, Diane Arbus expose et tire son épreuve de façon à ce que les robes ne fassent qu’une zone noire d’où émergent le corps  des trois jeunes filles.

"Les triplées me rappellent ce que j’étais à l’adolescence, une sœur, une fille, une mauvaise fille, avec ses pensées honteuses. Chacune des trois ressemble beaucoup aux deux autres, avec juste une légère différence." (Patricia Bosworth, Diane Arbus: une biographie, Paris, Seuil, 2007, p. 280-281.)