Nan one month after being battered
A raw and unflinching self-portrait, this work depicts the artist herself bearing the visible marks of domestic violence, with bruised and swollen features that confront the viewer with an uncomfortable intimacy. Goldin transforms personal trauma into a powerful act of witness, refusing to hide or aestheticize her injuries. The image challenges silence around abuse while asserting the subject's dignity and agency through her direct, unwavering gaze.
- Location
- Phillips, Salt Lake City, UT
- Spotted At
- Auction House · PhillipsView on map
🔨 Auction Lot
Under the Influence
December 10, 2014
Collectors with works by Nan Goldin
Artists in conversation
Larry Clark
American · b. 1943
Clark's documentary photography immerses viewers in raw, unfiltered personal and subcultural realities with the same unflinching intimacy and refusal to aestheticize difficult subject matter that defines Goldin's self portrait.
Diane Arbus
American · b. 1923
Arbus created deeply intimate portrait photography that confronts viewers with uncomfortable truths about vulnerability and marginalized human experience, sharing Goldin's commitment to direct, unsparing visual witness.
Sally Mann
American · b. 1951
Mann's deeply personal photographic work transforms private trauma and bodily experience into powerful acts of testimony, combining raw emotional honesty with a melancholic figurative intimacy closely aligned with Goldin's approach.
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