CONSTELLATION: Largest Diane Arbus Exhibition to Date

This summer, Park Avenue Armory and LUMA co-present the North American premiere of Constellation, the most comprehensive presentation of work by revolutionary photographer Diane Arbus to date. Bringing together more than 450 prints, many of them still unpublished, the exhibition offers new perspectives on Arbus’s iconic images and the breadth of humanity captured through her lens. Constellation invites viewers to chart their own course through the exhibition, revealing unexpected connections between the works and highlighting the alchemy of chance, chaos, and exploration that underlies creativity. Curated by Matthieu Humery and presented in the Armory’s Wade Thompson Drill Hall, the exhibition comes to New York City—Arbus’s hometown and where she made most of her photographs—from June 5 through August 17, 2025, following its highly acclaimed debut at LUMA Arles.

“The Armory is a place for discovery, where audiences can have new experiences even with the work of one of America’s most celebrated photographers. This inventive presentation breaks with the traditional ‘exhibition’ format, allowing visitors to step into the Drill Hall and immerse themselves within Diane Arbus’s world—one marked by raw humanity, curiosity, and deep empathy,” said Rebecca Robertson, the Adam R. Flatto Founding President and Executive Producer of Park Avenue Armory. “We are delighted to partner with LUMA and Maja Hoffmann to bring Constellation to New York, the city that inspired Arbus and provided the backdrop and subjects for many of her most captivating images.”

One of the most original and influential artists of the twentieth century, Diane Arbus (1923–1971) pioneered a stark, documentary style of capturing people outside the boundaries of ordinary society. From the mundane—children, couples, suburban families, and New York City pedestrians—to the unconventional—circus performers, female impersonators, nudists, celebrities, and more—Arbus’s subjects offer a diverse and compelling portrait of life in postwar America. For decades, her innovative artistry has influenced countless artists and continues to resonate with viewers today.

Following Arbus’s death in 1971, Neil Selkirk, a photographer and student of hers, began printing for the Arbus Estate and remains the only person authorized to make prints from her negatives. Constellation assembles for the first time all of the prints from the set of more than 450 that Selkirk produced. Presented as an immersive “constellation” of photographs, the exhibition invites visitors to wander freely among the works to discover what lies between the pictures and connects them to each other. This unprecedented collection of Arbus’s works is given an evocative new life at the Armory, marking the largest and most complete showing of the artist’s works in New York to date.

The installation in the Drill Hall is complemented by screenings of two films in the Armory’s more intimate Board of Officers Room. In the films, Selkirk and Darius Himes, International Head of Photographs for Christie’s, discuss the strategies and techniques that Arbus employed in her work and how her groundbreaking approach to the medium set her apart from other photographers. These conversations were recorded during the original presentation of Constellation at LUMA Arles.

“Diane Arbus changed the way we see photography and, in many ways, the way we see ourselves. Constellation brings together some of her most powerful and intimate images and grants audiences the freedom to bring their own interpretation to the works,” said curator Matthieu Humery. “The emotional depth of her photographs is amplified within the Armory’s Drill Hall, drawing viewers into a world where the ordinary becomes extraordinary, and the familiar is revealed anew. It is an honor to present this exhibition in such a singular setting, where Arbus’s vision can resonate in profound and unexpected ways.”

“What I like about this show is that it is totally unconventional, a comprehensive body of work presented in a fractal way,” said Maja Hoffmann, Founder and Executive Chairperson of LUMA Foundation and LUMA Arles. “The show was meant for Arles as an experiment. Presenting it in New York is certainly a challenge, but it reflects LUMA Foundation’s mission to engage new contexts and audiences in the ongoing interpretation of Diane Arbus’s work.”