Nan Goldin Photography
When Nan Goldin discovered a flourishing drag queen community as an 18-year-old navigating downtown Boston, it would mark the start of her widely influential photography career and lay the foundation of the seminal work that would follow years later — “The Ballad of Sexual Dependency,” an ongoing series of stark, flash-lit snapshots documenting her experiences with the LGBTQ+ scene, most notably during the AIDS epidemic.
Goldin was born in Washington, D.C., but raised in Massachusetts. She left home around age 13 or 14, moved into a commune and attended a free experimental high school called Satya Community School, where she began shooting Polaroids of herself as well as her classmates. She found inspiration in the work of Andy Warhol, Larry Clark, Diane Arbus, Weegee, August Sander and in the glossy pages of French and Italian Vogue. Goldin attended the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and moved to New York City soon after she graduated.
Goldin was particularly drawn to the avant-garde music scene in Manhattan in the late 1970s and early ’80s, and “The Ballad of Sexual Dependency” would include many photos taken in her newly adopted city. Goldin first exhibited the series at the Whitney Biennial in 1985 before publishing it as a book a year later. In its startling honesty, Goldin’s gripping portraits captured sexual relationships, frank drug use, intimate scenes in the homes of families, partying at bars, domestic violence and the AIDS-related horrors faced by those in the era’s LGBTQ+ community. More than 700 images were featured in exhibitions over the years compared to the book’s 127 portraits.
“‘The Ballad of Sexual Dependency’ is the diary I let people read,” wrote Goldin. “The diary is my form of control over my life. It allows me to obsessively record every detail. It enables me to remember.”
Goldin also felt that the project was autobiographical in a way, though only some of the images were self-portraits. “These were the people I lived with, these were my friends, these were my family, this was myself. I’d photograph people dancing while I was dancing. Or people having sex while I was having sex. Or people drinking while I was drinking. There was no separation between me and what I was photographing,” she told Bomb magazine.
Over the years, Goldin has collaborated with Japanese photographer Nobuyoshi Araki and completed projects for Jimmy Choo and Bottega Veneta. While her work has broadened to include New York City skylines, portraiture and commercial fashion photography, her commitment to documentary-style honesty has never wavered. In 2006, as part of Goldin’s "Chasing a Ghost” exhibit in New York City, a presentation was projected on three screens involving videos, photography and a musical collage focused on her older sister, Barbara, who took her own life in 1965.
Among Goldin’s many accolades are her admission to the French Legion of Honor in 2006, the Hasselblad Foundation International Award in 2007 and the Lucie Award in 2014.
Find a collection of original Nan Goldin photography on 1stDibs.
2010s Contemporary Nan Goldin Photography
C Print
2010s Contemporary Nan Goldin Photography
C Print
21st Century and Contemporary Feminist Nan Goldin Photography
Wood, Offset
1990s Post-Modern Nan Goldin Photography
Dye Transfer
1990s Contemporary Nan Goldin Photography
Dye Transfer
1970s Contemporary Nan Goldin Photography
Silver Gelatin
Early 2000s Contemporary Nan Goldin Photography
C Print, Photographic Film
21st Century and Contemporary Feminist Nan Goldin Photography
Wood, Offset
Early 2000s Contemporary Nan Goldin Photography
Color
1970s Post-Modern Nan Goldin Photography
Silver Gelatin
1990s Contemporary Nan Goldin Photography
C Print
1980s Conceptual Nan Goldin Photography
C Print
1980s Contemporary Nan Goldin Photography
Archival Pigment
1950s Contemporary Nan Goldin Photography
Silver Gelatin, Photographic Film, Photographic Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Nan Goldin Photography
Photographic Film, Photographic Paper, Silver Gelatin
2010s Contemporary Nan Goldin Photography
Rag Paper, Archival Pigment
2010s Realist Nan Goldin Photography
Photographic Film, Emulsion, Watercolor, C Print, Color, Dye Transfer, L...
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Nan Goldin Photography
Pigment, Photographic Paper
Early 2000s Contemporary Nan Goldin Photography
Archival Paper, Photographic Paper, Archival Pigment
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Nan Goldin Photography
Archival Paper, Pigment
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Nan Goldin Photography
Photographic Film, Photographic Paper, Silver Gelatin
1980s Photorealist Nan Goldin Photography
Photographic Paper, C Print, Dye Transfer
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Nan Goldin Photography
Photographic Paper, Pigment
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Nan Goldin Photography
Archival Ink, Rag Paper, Giclée
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Nan Goldin Photography
Archival Ink, Rag Paper, Giclée
2010s Contemporary Nan Goldin Photography
C Print
1970s Contemporary Nan Goldin Photography
Polaroid
1970s Contemporary Nan Goldin Photography
Polaroid
1970s Contemporary Nan Goldin Photography
Polaroid
21st Century and Contemporary Feminist Nan Goldin Photography
Wood, Offset
1990s Contemporary Nan Goldin Photography
C Print
1990s Conceptual Nan Goldin Photography
C Print
1970s Contemporary Nan Goldin Photography
Silver Gelatin
1970s Nan Goldin Photography
Silver Gelatin
1990s Conceptual Nan Goldin Photography
C Print
2010s Contemporary Nan Goldin Photography
Archival Pigment
1990s Contemporary Nan Goldin Photography
C Print
Nan Goldin photography for sale on 1stDibs.
Artists Similar to Nan Goldin
- Why is Nan Goldin famous?1 Answer1stDibs ExpertJanuary 10, 2025Nan Goldin is famous for her work as a photographer. She was particularly drawn to the avant-garde music scene in Manhattan in the late 1970s and early ’80s, and “The Ballad of Sexual Dependency” series would include many photos taken in her newly adopted city. Goldin first exhibited the series at the Whitney Biennial in 1985 before publishing it as a book a year later. In its startling honesty, Goldin’s gripping portraits captured sexual relationships, drug use, intimate scenes in the homes of families, partying at bars, domestic violence and the AIDS-related horrors faced by those in the era’s LGBTQ+ community. Over the years, Goldin has collaborated with Japanese photographer Nobuyoshi Araki and completed projects for Jimmy Choo and Bottega Veneta. While her work has broadened to include New York City skylines, portraiture and commercial fashion photography, her commitment to documentary-style honesty has never wavered. In 2006, as part of Goldin’s "Chasing a Ghost” exhibition in New York City, a presentation was projected on three screens involving videos, photography and a musical collage focused on her older sister, Barbara, who took her own life in 1965. Among Goldin’s many accolades are her admission to the French Legion of Honor in 2006, the Hasselblad Foundation International Award in 2007 and the Lucie Award in 2014. Shop a range of Nan Goldin art on 1stDibs.