Nicholas Nixon

Every year since 1975, American photographer Nicholas Nixon (b. 1947) has taken a portrait of his wife Bebe and her three sisters. The requirements for this unusual, long-term artistic project are extremely simple: The four women reunite for a group portrait, with the only constants being the order in which they appear left to right and the size of the negative. The sisters are usually portrayed within a narrow frame, often shown standing and from the chest up – more rarely seated or in full view – and looking directly into the camera.

Over a period of 40 years a singular series has developed, one that asserts the reality of the photograph just as much as it expresses the passage of time, a transience marked by the changing relationships among the sisters.

On the occasion of the project’s 40th anniversary, the series’ 40 photographs will be on view, along with a monograph.

For more information, please visit Pinakothek der Moderne