The Brown Sisters, Chatham, Massachusetts thumbnail 1
Image of Gallery in South Kensington
Request to view at the Prints & Drawings Study Room, level F , Case X, Shelf 978, Box B

The Brown Sisters, Chatham, Massachusetts

Photograph
1987 (photographed)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This photograph of the four Brown sisters was taken by Nicholas Nixon in 1987. Nixon has been photographing the sisters once a year, in roughly the same pose for almost thirty years, beginning in 1975. Nixon has used a large format, 10"x8" negative plate camera to photograph, which gives maximum clarity in the printed image because of the size of the negative from which it is made. The series maps their shared and also individual passage of time and developing womanhood. One of the sisters, Bebe, is married to Nixon and a query for the viewer that this series raises is if you can tell, by the manners by which these women face the camera, which one is his wife.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Titles
  • The Brown Sisters, Chatham, Massachusetts (assigned by artist)
  • The Brown Sisters (series title)
Materials and techniques
Gelatin-silver print (contact print made from 10 x 8 inch negatives)
Brief description
Photograph by Nicholas Nixon, 'The Brown Sisters, Chatham, Massachusetts', from the series entitled 'The Brown Sisters', gelatin-silver prints, USA, 1987
Physical description
Black and white photograph of four women shown looking towards the camera.
Dimensions
  • Image size height: 19.5cm
  • Length: 24.5cm
Dimensions taken from Victoria and Albert Museum Department of Prints, Drawings and Paintings Accession Register for 1990
Marks and inscriptions
  • 'Nicholas Nixon' (Signed in pencil on the back)
  • (Inscribed in pencil on the back with title and date)
  • '24/50 NN 16788' (Numbered in pencil on the back)
Credit line
The Brown Sisters, 1987. Nicholas Nixon (American, b.1947). Copyright of the photographer
Subjects depicted
Summary
This photograph of the four Brown sisters was taken by Nicholas Nixon in 1987. Nixon has been photographing the sisters once a year, in roughly the same pose for almost thirty years, beginning in 1975. Nixon has used a large format, 10"x8" negative plate camera to photograph, which gives maximum clarity in the printed image because of the size of the negative from which it is made. The series maps their shared and also individual passage of time and developing womanhood. One of the sisters, Bebe, is married to Nixon and a query for the viewer that this series raises is if you can tell, by the manners by which these women face the camera, which one is his wife.
Bibliographic references
  • Haworth-Booth, Mark. Photography Now. London: Dirk Nishen, in association with the Victoria & Albert Museum, 1989. ISBN: 185378012X. p.54-59
  • Victoria and Albert Museum Department of Prints, Drawings and Paintings Accession Register for 1990
Collection
Accession number
E.2721-1990

About this object record

Explore the Collections contains over a million catalogue records, and over half a million images. It is a working database that includes information compiled over the life of the museum. Some of our records may contain offensive and discriminatory language, or reflect outdated ideas, practice and analysis. We are committed to addressing these issues, and to review and update our records accordingly.

You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.

Suggest feedback

Record createdFebruary 26, 2004
Record URL
Download as: JSON