PHOTOGRAPHS
Nixon, Nicholas
U.S. (1947 - )
Heather Brown McCann, Mimi Brown, Bebe Brown Nixon, Laurie Brown
1975
Gelatin silver print
8 x 10 in. (20.3 x 25.4 cm) image and sheet size
Joseph and Elaine Monsen Photography Collection, gift of Joseph and Elaine Monsen and The Boeing Company
FA 97.269
Keywords: Portrait (group); Series: The Brown Sisters; Portrait (female); Human figures (group); Human figure (female)

This is the first in a series of annual portraits taken since 1975 of the Brown sisters, one of whom is the wife of the photographer, Nicholas Nixon. The series arose from Nixon’s interest in snapshots of the sisters displayed in the family home. Each year there are three constants imposed: only one image is printed, regardless of the number of exposures made; the sisters are posed in the same order (from left to right: Heather, Mimi, Bebe, and Laurie); and Nixon asks that each of the sisters be “psychologically present” when the photograph is taken. -- Label copy for Inside-Out: Portrait Photographs from the Permanent Collection, July 2 to November 29, 2009.
Copyright credit: Copyright Nicholas Nixon, courtesy Fraenkel Gallery, SF and Yossi Milo Gallery, NY