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Label TextThese two photographs come from one of Larry Sultan’s signature bodies of art – his “Pictures from Home” series, in which the artist captured his parents for over a decade. The photographs were takin in and around the house in which he grew up, using both staged and candid shots. Home movies and biographical text were eventually pulled into the project in both exhibitions and the published book of the series, which has been reissued three twice. The images convey a mix of emotions. They can seem both nostalgic and distant, imbued with both humor and tragedy, and even both real and fake. Sultan is known for his commitment to color photography, and the vivid green featured in this image of his mother appears several times in the series, acting as her decorative signature and almost a character in and of itself. It shows up in the carpet in the image of the artist’s father. In the opening chapter of his book “Pictures from Home,” Sultan writes about his aims and motivations for the work. His statement is self-aware, heartfelt, and acknowledges how much photography relies on the complicated relationship between artist and subject.

What drives me to continue this work is difficult to name. It has more to do with love than with sociology, with being a subject in the drama rather than a witness. And in the odd and jumbled process of working everything shifts; the boundaries blur, my distance slips, the arrogance and illusion of immunity falters. I wake up in the middle of the night, stunned and anguished. These are my parents. From that simple fact, everything follows. I realize that beyond the rolls of film and the few good pictures, the demands of my project and my confusion about its meaning, is the wish to take photography literally. To stop time. I want my parents to live forever.

DimensionsSheet: 20 x 24 in. (50.8 x 61 cm)
Accession Number 2025.336
Classificationsphotograph
Edition1/10
Portfolio/Series"Pictures from Home"
ProvenanceShowtime Networks Inc.; Allie Haeusslein, San Francisco [purchased from the previous]; Des Moines Art Center [gift from the previous, 2025]
Practicing Golf Swing, from "Pictures from Home"
Image Not Available for Practicing Golf Swing, from "Pictures from Home"