/PHOTOGRAPHERS/PHER NAT FARBMAN

Nat Farbman


Plates contributed

The 9 plates attributed to Nat Farbman in the 1955 MoMA Master Checklist (Exhibition #569).

ID Country Section Year View
photo-0004 Belgian Congo Prologue Clervaux
photo-0062 Bechuanaland Family and children Clervaux
photo-0103 Bechuanaland Family and children Clervaux
photo-0109 Bechuanaland Family and children Clervaux
photo-0117 Bechuanaland Work Clervaux
photo-0306 France Relationships and community Clervaux
photo-0317 Bechuanaland Play, learning, and education Clervaux
photo-0330 USA Play, learning, and education Clervaux
photo-0419 France Rededication, peace, and the future Clervaux

Notes

Nine plates in the MoMA Master Checklist (count verified by grep 2026-05-19): photo-0004 (#4 Prologue Belgian Congo), photo-0062 (#66 Children-A Bechuanaland), photo-0103 (#109 Fathers-Sons Bechuanaland), photo-0109 (#116 Family-Groups Bechuanaland), photo-0117 (#123 Land Bechuanaland), photo-0306 (#317 Relationships France), photo-0317 (#328 Learning Bechuanaland), photo-0330 (#342 Learning USA), photo-0419 (#434 Man’s-Judgment France). LIFE staff photographer 1946–1961, full name N. R. Farbman. Nationality ‘American’ per checklist. Birth 1907 Poland, immigrated USA 1911, death 1988 — LIFE archive (fetched 2026-05-19) and Wikipedia pointer (fetched 2026-05-19) both confirm 1907–1988. LIFE archive verbatim: ‘work on tribes in Botswana was included in the Museum of Modern Art’s Family of Man exhibit’. Wikipedia specifies six Bechuanaland plates and names ‘Kung San storyteller’ as the most renowned (not confirmed via Tier-1 source). Marriage-year discrepancy: LIFE archive says 1940; Wikipedia says 1938 — not resolved. Research file: research/photographers/nat-farbman.md

External biography

https://www.life.com/photographer/n-r-farbman/

Sources
  • src-moma-exh-0569-master-checklist
  • src-life-archive-farbman-bio
  • src-wikipedia-nat-farbman-pointer
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