ARTIST ROOMS Diane Arbus is a touring exhibition that brings together a remarkable body of work by the influential American photographer. Featuring some of Arbus’s most iconic black and white portraits, the exhibition celebrates her enduring influence in the year that marks the centenary of her birth.
Arbus is considered one of the great figures of American photography. She documented the lives, appearances and emotions of people, celebrating the extraordinary in the ordinary. The exhibition spans the breadth of Arbus’s career, beginning with early works from the mid-1950s taken with a 35mm camera, to the distinctive square format she adopted from 1962. A highlight in the exhibition is A box of ten photographs 1969–71, a rare portfolio of original prints which Arbus selected to represent who she was as an artist and how she saw her work in the world.
North Hertfordshire Museum, located in Hitchin, showcases the rich history of North Hertfordshire, with art and heritage displays and regularly changing exhibitions across its four galleries. North Hertfordshire Museum is the final venue of this exhibition tour, and the first in the south of the UK.
ARTIST ROOMS Diane Arbus is touring nationally throughout 2023 at the following venues:
- Barnsley Civic Museum, Barnsley, 22 March – 25 June 2023
- Gracefield Arts Centre, Dumfries, 29 April – 29 July 2023
- Shetland Museum and Archives, Lerwick, 19 August – 12 November 2023
- North Hertfordshire Museum, Hitchin, 2 December 2023 – 25 February 2024
ARTIST ROOMS presents the work of international artists in solo exhibitions drawn from a national touring collection jointly owned by Tate and National Galleries of Scotland. Its programme reaches audiences across the UK and is developed through local partnerships. ARTIST ROOMS gives young people the chance to get involved in creative projects, to discover more about art and artists, and learn new skills.
The ARTIST ROOMS programme and collection is managed by Tate and National Galleries of Scotland with the support of Art Fund, Henry Moore Foundation and using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England and Creative Scotland. Its founding collection was established through The d'Offay Donation in 2008 with the assistance of the National Heritage Memorial Fund, Art Fund and the Scottish and British Governments.
