Artist
Larry Sultan (American, 1946–2009)American, 1946–2009
CultureAmerican
Titles
- My Parents in Bed
- from the portfolio Blue Sky
Date1988
MediumChromogenic print
DimensionsImage: 17 3/8 × 21 1/4 in. (44.1 × 54 cm)
Sheet: 19 15/16 × 24 in. (50.6 × 61 cm)
Sheet: 19 15/16 × 24 in. (50.6 × 61 cm)
Credit LineGift of Anne Wilkes Tucker
Object number92.34
Non exposé
Explore Further
Department
PhotographyObject Type
For more than 10 years, Larry Sultan photographed his aging parents in his childhood home in the San Fernando Valley. For some images, Sultan asked his parents to pose; in others, he shot them candidly. As the series progressed, the artist considered his parent’s reactions to the images, his own instincts as an artist, and his changing perspective on his family. The result was the book Pictures from Home, which examined family relationships, identity, the roles we play for others, and the ceaselessly complicated idea of truth.
ProvenanceAnne Wilkes Tucker, Houston; given to MFAH, 1992.
Inscriptions, Signatures and Marks
Inscribed in black ink, verso, right bottom edge: MY PARENTS IN BED
Signed in black ink, verso, lower right corner: Larry Sultan 1988
Cataloguing data may change with further research.
If you have questions about this work of art or the MFAH Online Collection please contact us.
Frank W. Gohlke
1984
Gelatin silver print
85.268
Diane Arbus
1970, printed 1973
Gelatin silver print
2018.586
Jun Itoi
July 2001, printed May 2002
Internal dye diffusion print, waxed
2003.115
Nicholas Nixon
October 1987
Gelatin silver print
2010.195.15
Käthe Kollwitz
1922–1923
Woodcut on Japanese paper, trial proof of second version of state III/VII
2003.983