A family one evening in a nudist camp, Pa., 1965

There are three lifetime prints by Diane Arbus in Temple of Style: The Barbara Jakobson Collection, two of which were acquired through the Museum of Modern Art’s art lending service. In 2005, while raising funds for the Museum of Modern Art acquisition budget, Barbara Jakobson shared the following memories of meeting Diane Arbus.


"In 1957, Barbara Jakobson met Diane Arbus at the Central Park 'Mommy Playground' after noticing Arbus quietly sewing apart from the other mothers. They struck up a playground friendship that lasted even after Arbus moved downtown and until the artist’s death.” According to Jakobson, over their years she would often watch Arbus’ younger daughter Amy while Arbus made photographs.

Not many years later, Jakobson began an apprenticeship at the Museum of Modern Art and continued to follow Arbus’ artistic development with admiration. In the late 1960s, Jakobson acquired several of Arbus’ photographs through the museum, including the present lot.

“Nudist camps were a terrific subject for me. I’ve been to three of them over a period of years. The first time I went was in 1963 when I stayed a whole week, and that was really thrilling. It was the seediest camp, and for that reason, for some reason, it was also the most terrific.” – Diane Arbus (Diane Arbus, Aperture, New York, 1972, n.p.)