Amy Arbus is an American photographer. She has been creating portraits since the 1980s and currently teaches portraiture at the International Center of Photography. She has published five books, including The Inconvenience of Being Born, After Images, and The Fourth Wall, which The New Yorker called her “masterpiece.” Her work has appeared in hundreds of publications, including French Vogue, GQ, The New Yorker, Rolling Stone, and Vanity Fair.
As a native New Yorker, Amy is best known for her style feature, “On the Street,” which appeared in The Village Voice from 1980-1990. To inspire fashion designers, she sought out the trendsetters. Many of her subjects became famous musicians, designers, and artists because of her camera. The series chronicled a seminal period in New York City’s history and was later turned into the book, On the Street 1980-1990. Arbus has taught the Narrative Portrait at the International Center of Photography, Anderson Ranch, Fine Arts Work Center, and NORD Photography in Norway. Her workshop was selected as a Top Workshop by American Photo for 2008.
During the 1980s, Amy Arbus took portraits of New Yorkers for her work.
