In August of 1974, the photographer Nicholas Nixon made a group portrait of his wife, Bebe, and her three sisters, Heather, Mimi and Laurie  the Brown sisters. He did not keep that image, but in 1975 he made another portrait of the four, who then ranged in age between fifteen and twenty-five.Working with an eight-by-ten-inch view camera, whose large negatives capture a wealth of detail and a luscious continuity of tone, Nixon did the same in 1976, and this second successful photograph prompted him to suggest to the sisters that they assemble for a further portrait every year. The women agreed, and have continued to agree every year since. In 1999, when the resulting series of photographs reached its twentyfifth anniversary, The Museum of Modern Art published The Brown Sisters, showing all of the portraits in sequence. Now, as the family s  annual rite of passage , as Nixon has called it, hits year thirty-three, the Museum is publishing a second edition, including a further eight photographs that bring the series up to date.