Diane Arbus : Intimate Portraits

One of the greatest photographers of the twentieth century is also one of the most controversial. One hundred years after her birth how can we understand the extraordinary and often shocking life and work of Diane Arbus?

Writer and art collector Alvin Hall meets a cast of some of the world’s foremost critics, curators and artist photographers in a series of encounters recorded on location in New York City.

With their help Alvin seeks to understand Arbus’s influence and get past the difficulty of her work to uncover the empathy and powerful need that made it possible.

Produced by Michael Umney

Broadcast: 11th July 2023 on BBC Radio 4