1970 (negative)

Jewish Giant at Home with His Parents in the Bronx

American, 1923 - 1971

Diane Arbus liked to take photographs of uncommon subjects. Here, an otherwise typical family picture becomes almost mythical as the “giant” son looks down at his parents. The differences between the parents and child are not just their heights: the parents stand stiffly while their son’s body curves, the father wears a suit while his son’s shirt is untucked, and the parents look comfortable in their home while their son looks like he does not fit inside it. These details might hint at something Arbus later remembered—that the son had a job in a carnival that made his parents unhappy. The parent-child differences change this picture from being simply unusual and humorous to being something we can relate to and feel compassion for.