Child with Toy Hand Grenade, 1962
Diane Arbus (American, 1923–1971)
Gelatin silver print
Artist Biography
Technical Glossary
Diane Arbus (American, 1923–1971)
Gelatin silver print
15 1/2 x 15 1/16 in. (39.4 x 38.3 cm)
Purchase, Jennifer and Joseph Duke Gift, 2001 (2001.474)
An iconic image that embodies the awkward tension between childhood tomfoolery and primal violence, this has become one of the most celebrated photographs in the history of the medium. America's historic transition from the complacent isolationism of the 1950s to the sociopolitical turmoil that would emerge in the late 1960s and 1970s seems to seethe beneath the surface of this image, underscoring Arbus' prescience and intuitive understanding of her time.
