A Jewish Giant at Home with his Parents in the Bronx, New York
A Jewish Giant at Home with his Parents in the Bronx, New York

© The Estate of Diane Arbus LLC

A Jewish Giant at Home with his Parents in the Bronx, New York
A Jewish Giant at Home with his Parents in the Bronx, New York

Currently not on view

A Jewish Giant at Home with his Parents in the Bronx, New York,

1970

Diane Arbus, 1923–1971; born New York, NY; died New York
x1975-96.10

One of Arbus’s most iconic photographs, this image exemplifies the artist’s body of work, whose pictures of marginalized people have been both celebrated as empathetic portrayals and criticized as voyeuristic exploitations. Arbus met the "Jewish Giant" Eddie Carmel at Hubert’s Dime Museum and Flea Circus in New York’s Times Square. Appearing in the films The Brain that Wouldn’t Die (1962) and 50,000 B.C. (Before Clothing) (1963) and forming the rock-and-roll group Frankenstein and the Brain Surgeons, Carmel pursued a career as a performer despite his parents’ reservations. While Arbus photographed Carmel several times, this late photograph pictures him with his parents, portraying their intimate home life while also potentially emphasizing the distance between them.

Information

Title
A Jewish Giant at Home with his Parents in the Bronx, New York
Dates

1970

Maker
Diane Arbus
Medium
Gelatin silver print
Dimensions
image: 37.8 x 38.1 cm. (14 7/8 x 15 in.) sheet: 50.5 x 40.7 cm. (19 7/8 x 16 in.)
Credit Line
Museum purchase, David H. McAlpin, Class of 1920, Fund
Object Number
x1975-96.10
Place Depicted

North America, United States, New York, Bronx, New York

Inscription
Inscribed and signed in ink, lower: This is Eddie Carmel, a jewish [sic] giant, with his parents in the living room of their home in the Bronx N.Y. 1970 / Diane Arbus In graphite, verso top left: [upside down] 15 [encircled] / 16 Sec / 3.15
Marks/Labels/Seals
Stamped, verso top left: This print is part of a limited edition portfolio of / ten Diane Arbus photographs. 39//50 [written in ink] Stamped, verso top center: Not to be reproduced in any way without / written permission from Doon Arbus. Stamped, verso right: A Diane Arbus photograph / title A JEWISH GIANT AT HOME WITH HIS PARENTS / IN THE BRONX, N.Y. 1970 [title in ink] / print by NEIL SELKIRK [name in ink] / Doon Arbus [signed in ink]
Culture
American
Type
photographs, gelatin silver prints
Techniques
gelatin silver process
Subject
dwellings, women, figures (representations), parents, giants, rooms, men

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