Heather Brown, Mimi Brown, Bebe Brown Nixon, Laurie Brown Tranchin, East Greenwich, Rhode Island

Nicholas Nixon American

Not on view

What was to become the project of a lifetime started as a family photograph. In the summer of 1974, Nicholas Nixon made a portrait of his wife, Bebe Brown, with her three sisters. Unsatisfied with the result, Nixon made another attempt the following summer, during the next family gathering. This would be the first picture of a continuing series, for the photographer and his four models decided to create the occasion for making a similar portrait each year. The Brown Sisters photographs are, in Nixon's own words, an "annual rite of passage": "one picture we all liked led to a whim, which led to an idea". This ritual tells all about passage of time and aging, as well as the deep mystery of blood ties.

Heather Brown, Mimi Brown, Bebe Brown Nixon, Laurie Brown Tranchin, East Greenwich, Rhode Island, Nicholas Nixon (American, born 1947), Gelatin silver print

Due to rights restrictions, this image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.

Open Access

As part of the Met's Open Access policy, you can freely copy, modify and distribute this image, even for commercial purposes.

API

Public domain data for this object can also be accessed using the Met's Open Access API.