Diane Arbus
Xmas Tree in a Living Room in Levittown, Long Island, 1962
Vintage silver gelatin print, lifetime print. Made between 1962-1969. Authenticated by the Arbus estate (2026).
Print - 14 5/8” x 14 3/4” - Flushed mounted on brown board with inked black edges.
In 1969, Margo opened her first art gallery, but she had no art to display. So her girlfriend, who just so happened to be iconic photographer Diane Arbus, suggested they...
In 1969, Margo opened her first art gallery, but she had no art to display. So her girlfriend, who just so happened to be iconic photographer Diane Arbus, suggested they exhibit her work. Margo told me, “In the morning within an hour, I had rented myself an art gallery but had no artwork, by midnight, Diane and I had finished hanging her work.”
Often now—in fact, whenever possible—Diane would go flying with gallery owner Margo Feiden from a little airfield in Deerfield, Long Island. They flew at every conceivable time—at dawn, at dusk, in the afternoon—swooping over the island of Manhattan, past the Statue of Liberty and the Wall Street skyscrapers. “We always flew over Diane’s place on East 10th Street,” Feiden says. “Diane never spoke during these flights. She seemed mesmerized by the experience and relieved to be off the ground. I got the feeling she imagined she was piloting the plane. The cold wind was on our faces; we could see the clouds very close. She would have flown every day with me if I’d let her, but I usually wanted to go alone. I think she mentioned that her brother, Howard Nemerov, had been in the Air Force during the war; anyway, we flew steadily together for the next two years; Diane once told me she loved flying more than anything in the world. She loved flying so much Allan gave her a pair of wings—actually a pin shaped like wings. She was pleased about that and always spoke with admiration and affection for Allan. He had been her teacher of photography, she said. He had taught her how to develop and print her work. She seemed very grateful to him.”
Diane Arbus: A Biography, Chapter 31.
Recently this Arbus photograph was stylistically used in season two of Severance, for Gemmas “Christmas Room Experience”
A print of the same size and similar dark printing is in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Often now—in fact, whenever possible—Diane would go flying with gallery owner Margo Feiden from a little airfield in Deerfield, Long Island. They flew at every conceivable time—at dawn, at dusk, in the afternoon—swooping over the island of Manhattan, past the Statue of Liberty and the Wall Street skyscrapers. “We always flew over Diane’s place on East 10th Street,” Feiden says. “Diane never spoke during these flights. She seemed mesmerized by the experience and relieved to be off the ground. I got the feeling she imagined she was piloting the plane. The cold wind was on our faces; we could see the clouds very close. She would have flown every day with me if I’d let her, but I usually wanted to go alone. I think she mentioned that her brother, Howard Nemerov, had been in the Air Force during the war; anyway, we flew steadily together for the next two years; Diane once told me she loved flying more than anything in the world. She loved flying so much Allan gave her a pair of wings—actually a pin shaped like wings. She was pleased about that and always spoke with admiration and affection for Allan. He had been her teacher of photography, she said. He had taught her how to develop and print her work. She seemed very grateful to him.”
Diane Arbus: A Biography, Chapter 31.
Recently this Arbus photograph was stylistically used in season two of Severance, for Gemmas “Christmas Room Experience”
A print of the same size and similar dark printing is in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Provenance
The Artist to Margo Feiden, Margo Feiden Galleries, New York;
Jeremy Rosen, Margo Feidens son, thence by descent;
Private California collection, acquired from the above.