Diane Arbus Would Not Be Boxed In.

• Position: Focus - "Diane Arbus: A box of ten photographs", Smithsonian American Art Museum. Washington, D.C.

DIANE ARBUS (1923-71) was one of the most-original and -influential artists of the 20th century. "Diane Arbus: A box of ten photographs" forges new ground as the first exhibition to focus on the portfolio Arbus was working on at the end of her life. This heretofore missing piece from her biography was as important to her evolving artistic identity as it was to the broader public recognition of photography as a fine-art practice. Central to the transition Arbus was making away from magazine work at the time of her suicide, the portfolio bridges a lifetime of modest recognition with a posthumous career of extraordinary acclaim.

"This exhibition sheds new light on a crucial and often overlooked stage in Arbus' career, as well as on a transformational moment in the history of contemporary photography." says Stephanie Stebich. director of the Smithsonian American Art Museum. "The museum was an early champion of photography as an important art form reflecting the American experience. We're proud of the role that SAAM played in bringing the work of Diane Arbus to wider recognition in the 1970s and are pleased to present 'A box of ten photographs' in its entirety to a new generation."

In late 1969, Arbus began to work on a portfolio. By 1971. she had completed the printing for eight known sets of a planned edition of 50 of "A box of ten photographs," as she titled it, only four of which she sold during her lifetime. Two were purchased by photographer Richard Avedon; another by artist Jasper Johns. A fourth was purchased by Bea Feitler, art director at Harper's Bazaar. For Feitler, Arbus added an 11th photograph. "A woman with her baby monkey NJ. 1971." This is the first exhibition to focus exclusively on "A box of ten photographs," using the set that Arbus assembled specially for Feitler. It was acquired by the Smithsonian American Art Museum in 1986, and it is the only one of the portfolios completed and sold by Arbus that is publicly held.

The exhibition traces the history of "A box of ten photographs" between 1969-73. The story is a crucial one because it was the portfolio that established the foundation for Arbus' posthumous career, ushering in photography's acceptance into the realm of "serious" art. Philip Leider, then editor-in-chief of Artforum and a photography skeptic, admitted after an encounter with Arbus and the portfolio, "With Diane Arbus, one could find oneself interested in photography or not, but one could no longer ... deny its...