It was in 1975 that Nicholas Nixon, a professor of photography at the Massachusetts College of Art, famous for his work in portraiture and documentary photography originally photographed his wife Bebe and her 3 sisters for the first time.
All were so impressed with the result, they agreed to line up once a year and make it an annual family event. In every photo, Nixon has the Brown sisters, who at the time were between the ages of 15 and 25, consistently pose in the same order, Heather on the left, followed by Mimi, Bebe and Laurie. The result being a series of 36 beautiful photographs, commemorating their life together. What is so striking about the photographs is the bond between the sisters. It’s clear that over the years haircuts, fashion and physical changes are noticeable, but despite this, the solidarity of the four sister’s is very clear. In each photograph, the sisters direct gaze allows the viewer to slowly see their changing appearance, and gives us a chance to take a guess at their thoughts. The really clever part of the collection, is the apparent shadow cast on the sisters in several images, creating a delicate distance in each, seemingly telling a story, either of a pregnancy, a marriage or other unknown experiences. Do you think you can tell which ones stand out?
The series has been shown at the Museum of Modern Art, Harvard University’s Fogg Art Museum and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. You can find out more about the fascinating series of photographs titled ‘The Brown Sisters’ in his book Nicholas Nixon – The Brown Sister’s. Thirty Years.
Here are some examples of the Brown sisters, showing their hauntingly loving bond
1975
1980
1985
1989
1992
1994
1999
2010
To see all the images please click on the link below
http://sobadsogood.com/2013/05/02/these-4-sisters-took-a-photo-together-each-year-for-36-years-the-brown-sisters/
