Diane Arbus' Nudist Camp photograph to lead Hillman collection

Diane Arbus' Waitress in a Nudist Camp is to headline Christie's sale of photographs from the William T Hillman collection in New York on March 31.

The lot carries an estimate of $200,000-300,000.

Diane Arbus photo
Diane Arbus visited the nudist camp in 1963

Arbus visited the Sunshine Park nudist camp in 1963 for an article she had pitched to Esquire magazine, although it ultimately went unpublished.  

She wrote of her experiences in the camp: "There is not much to it, you might say. It's like walking into an hallucination without being quite sure whose it is…

"Some ladies wear beach hats or sunglasses or wedgies and curlers or earrings and pocketbooks.

"In the cafeteria the teenage waitresses wear organdy demi-aprons. Some men have on only a wrist-watch, or shoes and socks with their cigarettes and money tucked into their socks for safekeeping."

Diane Arbus is one of the world's best-loved photographers, with the result that her work often sells for impressive sums at auction.  

Her auction record stands at $602,500, set for a print of "Identical Twins Cathleen and Colleen, Roselle, N.J." at Phillips New York in 2013.

The sale takes place on the same day as Christie's 20/21 photography auction, which will feature a portrait of Georgia O'Keeffe by Alfred Stieglitz (valued at $400,000-600,000).

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Images: Christie's

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