Perspective

Author Patricia Bosworth was not an intimate friend of Diane Arbus, although she was employed as a fashion model on three occasions. As she states in the preface to her work, she ran into Diane on several occasions and had some conversations with her. Bosworth admits that the information obtained for this biography came from many others who knew Diane intimately, including relatives, friends, and business associates, but not from Diane's children, former husband, or Marvin Israel, who perhaps had the most significant impact on Diane's adult life after her separation from husband Allan. Bosworth, then, was forced to rely on dozens of close friends and Diane's brother Howard, all of whom provided comprehensive depictions of Diane at various stages of her life, in order to gain a complete picture of this complex and, ultimately, mentally ill artist. The book is not an objective account by any means...