Where to See Nan Goldin

5 museums worldwide

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About Nan Goldin

American · 1953–present · Impressionism

photographing intimacy and addiction since fifteen, showing The Ballad of Sexual Dependency in nightclubs, and forcing museums to drop the Sackler name

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Nan Goldin's works are held in 5 museums worldwide, including Wallonia-Brussels Federation Museum of Contemporary Arts, National Gallery of Art, and Metropolitan Museum of Art.

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🇧🇪 Belgium

1 museum

🇺🇸 United States

4 museums

Frequently Asked Questions

  • Where can I see Nan Goldin's work?
    Nan Goldin's photographs are held in numerous public collections. These include the Tate Modern in London; the Museum of Modern Art[2], the Whitney Museum of American Art, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art[4] in New York; the Centre Pompidou in Paris; and the Israel Museum in Jerusalem. Major survey exhibitions of Goldin's work have been mounted at institutions around the world. Recent examples include "Nan Goldin: This Will Not End Well" at the Moderna Museet, Stockholm (2023), which then travelled to the Nationalgalerie, Berlin; the Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam; and the Irish Museum of Modern Art, Dublin. In 2022, the Marian Goodman Gallery in New York presented "Kiss the Moon," an exhibition of new and unseen photographs. Smaller selections of Goldin's images are often included in group shows that explore themes of gender, sexuality, community, and portraiture. Check the websites of major museums and galleries for current exhibition schedules. You can also find her work at commercial galleries that represent her.
  • What should I know about Nan Goldin's prints?
    When considering Nan Goldin's prints, bear in mind that the art market uses specific terms to describe photographs depending on when they were printed. A 'vintage print' means the photograph was printed around the time the negative was taken. A 'period print' is one made within roughly 10 to 15 years of the shooting. If a print date is unknown, or more than 15 years after the shot, it is termed an 'old print'. Anything recently printed from the original negative is a 'modern print'. An 'original print' is one the artist made or directly supervised. A 'facsimile' is a print made by re-photographing a print, or from the original negative, using print base and processing as close as possible to a vintage print. Photographs can be robust if properly cared for, but they are subject to issues like foxing, creasing, and UV degradation. Yellowing can occur in gelatin silver prints due to the nature of the paper, oxidising agents, poor washing, or excessive humidity. Redox spots, small reddish spots, can also appear.
  • Why are Nan Goldin's works important today?
    Nan Goldin's photographs are important for their unflinching portrayal of marginalised communities and personal struggles. Her work, often presented in slideshow format, documents the lives of friends and lovers, particularly within LGBTQ+ subcultures. Goldin began photographing in the early 1970s, influenced by photographers like Diane Arbus. Her breakthrough came with "The Ballad of Sexual Dependency" (first exhibited 1981), a visual diary of her life and the lives of those around her. The slideshow, set to music, presented raw and intimate images of sex, drug use, violence, and tenderness. Her work challenged conventional notions of beauty and normality. She addressed themes such as gender identity, sexual freedom, and the AIDS crisis. Goldin's images are characterised by their directness and emotional honesty. She avoids idealisation, instead capturing the realities of her subjects' lives with empathy. Goldin's approach has had a significant impact on contemporary photography. She influenced a generation of photographers interested in personal narratives and social issues. Her work continues to resonate with audiences today because of its frankness and its exploration of universal human experiences.
  • Nan Goldin most famous work?
    Nan Goldin's diaristic slideshow, The Ballad of Sexual Dependency, begun in 1981, is perhaps her most famous work.
  • When did Nan Goldin start photography?
    Nan Goldin started photographing at fifteen.
  • Nan Goldin facts?
    Nan Goldin founded P.A.I.N. (Prescription Addiction Intervention Now) to target the Sackler family.
  • Who is Nan Goldin?
    Nan Goldin was born in Washington, D.C., in 1953.
  • What techniques or materials did Nan Goldin use?
    Nan Goldin is known for photographic work that documents subcultures and intimate personal moments. She is associated with the "snapshot aesthetic"; her pictures often have a casual, immediate quality. Goldin began using a 35mm camera in the 1970s. This small format allowed her to be mobile and capture spontaneous images. She often used available light, which contributed to the sometimes grainy or imperfect look of her photographs. This aesthetic choice was deliberate, as she aimed to capture the reality of the moment without artificial enhancement. Many of Goldin's photographs are presented in slideshow format, often accompanied by music. This method of presentation adds a narrative dimension to her work, turning a collection of individual images into a more complete story. The slideshows became an important part of her artistic expression, allowing viewers to experience the work in a temporal and emotional way. Goldin also publishes her photographs in book form, further disseminating her personal and social narratives.

Sources

Where to See guide aggregates verified holdings of Nan Goldin's works across the following collections.

  1. [1] museum National Gallery of Art Used for: museum holdings.
  2. [2] museum Museum of Modern Art Used for: museum holdings.
  3. [3] museum Wallonia-Brussels Federation Museum of Contemporary Arts Used for: museum holdings.
  4. [4] museum Metropolitan Museum of Art Used for: museum holdings.
  5. [5] book Charlotte Mullins, A Little History of Art Used for: biography.
  6. [6] book David Hockney; Maurice Tuchman; Stephanie Barron; Los Angeles County Museum of Art, David Hockney a retrospective _ [Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 4.2 - 24.4.1988; New York, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 18.6. - 14.8.1988; London, Tate Ga Used for: biography.
  7. [7] book guggenheim-clemente00clem Used for: biography.
  8. [8] book guggenheim-invested00blis Used for: biography.
  9. [9] book guggenheim-mediascape00klot Used for: biography.
  10. [10] book guggenheim-rroseisr00bles Used for: biography, stylistic analysis.

Editorial overseen by Solis Prints. Sources verified 2026-05-23. Click a source for details, or hover over [N] in the page above to preview.

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