Diane Arbus: Sanctum Sanctorum, an exhibition of forty-five photographs made in private places across New York, New Jersey, California, and London between 1961 and 1971, will be on view at Fraenkel Gallery from March 5 to April 18, 2026, following an exhibition at David Zwirner, London. The exhibition will be accompanied by a comprehensive monograph reproducing works in the exhibition, jointly published by both galleries.
Through her singular combination of intelligence, charisma, intuition, and courage, Diane Arbus was frequently invited into homes and other private realms seldom seen by strangers. Though made in intimate settings, her photographs evidence no sense of intrusion or trespass. Instead, they reveal an unspoken exchange between photographer and subject, a moment of recognition in which confidences emerge freely and without judgment.
Arbus’s desire to know people embraced a vast spectrum of humanity. Her subjects in Sanctum Sanctorum include debutantes, nudists, celebrities, aspiring celebrities, socialites, transvestites, babies, widows, circus performers, lovers, female impersonators, and a blind couple in their bedroom.
The exhibition brings together little-known works, such as Girl sitting in bed with her boyfriend, N.Y.C. 1966; Ozzie and Harriet Nelson on their bed, Los Angeles 1970; and Interior decorator at the nudist camp in his trailer, New Jersey 1963, alongside celebrated images like Mexican dwarf in his hotel room, N.Y.C. 1970 and A naked man being a woman, N.Y.C. 1968.
While many of Arbus’s photographs have become part of the public’s collective consciousness since her landmark retrospective at The Museum of Modern Art, New York, in 1972, seen in this context, viewers may discover aspects of even familiar works that have previously gone unnoticed.
Sanctum Sanctorum follows two recent major exhibitions of the artist’s work: Cataclysm: The 1972 Diane Arbus Retrospective Revisited at David Zwirner New York (2022) and Los Angeles (2025), and Diane Arbus: Constellation at LUMA, Arles (2023–2024), the Park Avenue Armory, New York (2025), and Gropius Bau, Berlin (2025–2026).
On Saturday, March 14, in celebration of Arbus’s birthday, the Roxie Theater in San Francisco will present a rare special screening of The Slide Show and Talk by Diane Arbus. The original audio recording encompasses Arbus’s 1970 slide presentation, in which the artist speaks about photography using her own work and other photographs, snapshots, and clippings from her collection. The screening will be followed by a discussion with photographer and filmmaker Neil Selkirk, the only person authorized by the Arbus Estate to print from Arbus’s negatives, and Jeffrey Fraenkel. All proceeds from the screening will go directly toward supporting the Roxie.
