Dianora Niccolini collection

This collection is comprised of a series of original photographs and supporting documents tracing the career of Dianora Niccolini, an Italian-born American photographer. Included are documents related to Niccolini’s photographic exhibitions across galleries and museums of the United States. Clippings and periodicals showcase the use of Niccolini’s photography in photographic anthologies of the nude and museum exhibitions. Also included is correspondence with the artist, as well as buyers, dealers, and exhibitors of Niccolini’s photographs. Cataloged alongside the archival materials are a series of books featuring Niccolini’s photographs, as well as select catalogs of exhibits.

Dianora Niccolini was born in Florence, Italy, but moved to the United States at the age of nine. Niccolini relocated to New York City to study art, but moved from the realm of dance to photography after meeting the noted photographer Weegee. Niccolini’s first exhibit was a 1974 study of female nudes, followed by a Sunday New York Times-reviewed show of the male nude the following year. Niccolini is considered a pioneering female photographer in the realm of photographing the male nude and her images of the male nude pre-date those of body builders popularized by Robert Mapplethorpe. Her photographs have been featured in several anthologies of nude figurative photography. Niccolini was the first president of Professional Women Photographers (PWP), serving 1979-1984, under which PWP became the leading professional organization of its kind. Niccolini has taught photography at the Germain school of photography, The New York Institute of photography, The New York Institute of Technology and, The Learning Annex.