Mrs. T. Charlton Henry on a couch in her Chestnut Hill home, Philadelphia, PA

Diane Arbus  (American, 1923–1971)

Date:
1965
Medium:
Gelatin silver print
Dimensions:
Image: 21.6 x 21.5 cm (8 1/2 x 8 7/16 in.) Sheet: 35.6 x 27.9 cm (14 x 11 in.)
Classification:
Photographs
Credit Line:
Purchase, Alfred Stieglitz Society Gifts, 2001
Accession Number:
2001.399
Rights and Reproduction:
Copyright © The Estate of Diane Arbus, 1965.
  • Description

    When this portrait of a society lady was published in Harper's Bazaar, the feature writer's text for the image noted: "Mrs. T. Charlton Henry … weighs a fragile, feminine ninety pounds, but moves through life like Trojan." Although Mrs. Henry-with her jeweled dress and formidable helmet of hair-may have been an atypical Arbus subject, the photographer employed her trademark classical style to capture the power and poignancy of this wealthy upper class woman in the elegant confines of her milieu.

  • Signatures, Inscriptions, and Markings

    Inscription: Estate stamps in blue ink with inscriptions in ink, verso TLC to TRC: "ALL RIGHTS RESERVED // This image may not be reproduced in any // way whatsoever without written permission // from The Estate of Diane Arbus.", "Copyright (c) 1965 // The Estate of Diane Arbus", "a diane arbus print #3979-1-30-1114 // doon arbus Doon Arbus // for the estate of diane arbus llc"

  • Provenance

    The Estate of Diane Arbus

  • Notes

    From the Harper's Bazaar text by Geri Trotta: "Mrs. T. Charlton Henry, who was born Julia Rush Biddle in Philadelphia, weighs a fragile, feminine ninety pounds, but moves through life like Trojan... Her dinner dress, opposite, of misty brown net embroidered with jewels of every description, comes from Balenciaga--one of the designers Mrs. Henry most admires...Mrs. Henry's coiffures on these four pages by Mr. Richard of the Helena Rubinstein Salon de Coiffure."

  • See also
190037939

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