Outside the Beltway

Four Sisters Age Before Your Eyes

In a fascinating project, four sisters are photographed each year from 1976 to 2010.

James Joyner · Monday, May 6, 2013 · 4 comments

In a fascinating project, four sisters are photographed each year from 1976 to 2010.

Matt Knight, So Bad So Good (“These 4 Sisters Were Photographed Every Year For 36 Years“):

The year was 1975 when Nicolas Nixon, a professor of photography at the Massachusetts College of Art originally photographed his wife Bebe and her 3 sisters. They were so impressed with the result, they collectively decided to make it a yearly event, the annual family photo. 36 years later, the sisters and Nicolas had all kept their promise, resulting in these 36 beautiful and candid photographs.

Despite the years changing, the four sisters Heather, Mimi, Bebe and Laurie always remained in their same positions from that original photograph back in 1975. Whilst the fashion, haircuts and indeed their lives & personalities continue to evolve and change over the years, one thing that is incredibly evident is just how much of a loving bond there is between the four of them.

You can find out more about the fascinating series simply titled ‘The Brown Sisters’ by getting a copy of the book right here.

Having expropriated all of Knight’s text, I’ll leave you with a powerful incentive to click through: he has all 36 pictures arranged chronologically.  While the poses and lighting aren’t very close–the only consistency is the order in which the four women stand–the effect is pretty startling. There are single years when a particular sister suddenly looks old.