Diane Arbus, Identical Twins, Roselle, N.J. 1967 1967 Copyright © 1971 The Estate of Diane Arbus, LLC ARTIST ROOMS National Galleries of Scotland and Tate. Acquired jointly through the d’Offay Donation with assistance from the National Heritage Memorial Fund and The Art Fund 2008.

Diane Arbus, Tattooed Man at a Carnival, Md. 1970 1970 Copyright © 1971 The Estate of Diane Arbus, LLC ARTIST ROOMS National Galleries of Scotland and Tate. Acquired jointly through the d’Offay Donation with assistance from the National Heritage Memorial Fund and The Art Fund 2008.

"A photograph is a secret about a secret. The more it tells you, the less you know." Diane Arbus

One of National Museum Cardiff's main art exhibitions in 2009 reveals the work of legendary New York photographer Diane Arbus (1923 -1971), who transformed the art of photography.

Diane Arbus, which comprises 69 black and white photographs including the rare and important portfolio of ten vintage prints: Box of Ten, 1971, is one of the best collections of Arbus's work in existence. A large selection of these images will be on display at the Museum from 9 May until 31 August 2009.

Throughout 2009, 18 museums and galleries across the UK will be showing over 30 ARTIST ROOMS from the collection created by the dealer and collector Anthony d'Offay, and acquired by the nation in February 2008.

Diane Arbus will be one of the first exhibitions on a tour of this collection.

Anthony d'Offay's guiding principle for the creation of ARTIST ROOMS was the concept of individual rooms devoted to particular artists, Diane Arbus being one of them.

Capturing 1950s and 1960s America, Arbus is renowned for portraits of nudists, circus performers, middle class families and zealots.

Her powerful, sometimes controversial images often frame the familiar as strange and the strange or exotic as familiar.

This singular vision and her ability to engage in such an uncompromising way with her subjects has made Arbus one of the most important and influential photographers of the twentieth century.

This is first time a national collection has been shared and shown simultaneously across the UK.

This has been made possible through the exceptional generosity of The Art Fund and, in Scotland, the Scottish Government. ARTIST ROOMS is jointly owned and managed by National Galleries of Scotland and Tate on behalf of the nation.

ARTIST ROOMS on Tour with The Art Fund has been devised to take those displays beyond the collection’s owners, Tate and National Galleries of Scotland, and to reach and inspire new audiences across the country.