Documentary Growing 1981 Larry Rivers Download Updated Info

To stay trending, Larry Entertainment must operate on a predictable but surprising cadence:

This cycle trains the algorithm to associate “1981 Larry” with fresh derivative content, not archival dust.

Synopsis: Unlike standard music documentaries, Growing is stylized as an "experimental video diary." Larry Rivers, known primarily as a painter, approached the film with an artist's eye. It captures The Hollies during a transitional period in the early 1980s. It features live performances, recording studio sessions, and behind-the-scenes footage. Notably, it captures the band’s reunion with original vocalist Allan Clarke and highlights their commercial resurgence, including their hit "Stop! In the Name of Love."

The difficulty of finding Growing is, in a strange way, perfectly aligned with Larry Rivers’ artistic philosophy. He hated ease. He loved the friction between desire and access. The film is not just about a baby growing; it is about the ugly, beautiful, and often inaccessible nature of private life.

While the internet wants an updated download button for convenience, the legend of Growing survives because of its scarcity. By the time the 2026 restoration arrives, it will feel like uncovering a lost artifact.

Action Summary for the Searcher:

The search for Growing is part of the art itself. Keep looking—but look in the right places.


Last updated: May 2025. This article will be updated when the official digital download becomes available.


Title: Rediscovering a Masterpiece: Larry Rivers’ "Growing" (1981) – An Update on Availability

For fans of avant-garde cinema and the New York art scene of the late 20th century, Larry Rivers’ documentary Growing (1981) stands as a fascinating time capsule. Known primarily as a painter and sculptor, Rivers brought his chaotic, jazz-influenced sensibility to film, resulting in a documentary that feels less like an observation and more like a living collage.

The Subject: The Golden Girls of Southampton Growing is perhaps best known for its candid, sometimes controversial, portrayal of two towering figures of high society: Rebekah Harkness and CZ Guest. Harkness, the heiress to the Standard Oil fortune, and Guest, the style icon, allowed Rivers into their rarefied world. The film captures the glamour of the Hamptons and Palm Beach, but through Rivers' lens, it also exposes the fragility, eccentricity, and the sheer oddity of extreme wealth. It is a documentary that dances on the line between tribute and satire.

The Aesthetic Unlike standard biographical documentaries, Growing is stylized and experimental. Rivers intercuts footage with artwork, musical interludes, and fragmented interviews. It captures the "Pop Art" era perfectly—the collision of high culture and bohemian art life.

Availability & The "Updated" Status For years, Growing was notoriously difficult to find. It never received a widespread commercial DVD release in the digital era, existing mostly on obscure VHS tapes traded among collectors or in museum archives.

However, interest has surged recently due to pop culture resurgences (most notably Taylor Swift’s connection to the Harkness history). If you are looking for an updated download or streaming link, here is the current situation:

Why It Matters Today In an age of curated Instagram lifestyles, Growing offers a raw, uncurated look at the original "influencers." It is a essential watch for anyone interested in American art history, the psychology of the ultra-wealthy, or the unique vision of Larry Rivers.

Have you managed to catch a screening of this rare gem? Let us know in the comments where film students and art lovers might look to view it today.


Suggested Tags: #LarryRivers #Growing1981 #AvantGardeCinema #RebekahHarkness #CZGuest #ArtDocumentary #NewYorkArt #RareFilms

Subject: Focuses on the life and artistic evolution of Larry Rivers.

Context: Rivers was a pioneer of Pop Art, merging narrative and abstract styles. documentary growing 1981 larry rivers download updated

Content: The film captures his personal history, studio work, and social circles.

Significance: It serves as a visual time capsule of the New York art scene in the early 80s. 🎨 About Larry Rivers Style: Often called the "Godfather of Pop Art." Media: Painter, sculptor, jazz saxophonist, and filmmaker.

Legacy: Known for blending traditional draftsmanship with modern irony.

Famous Works: "Washington Crossing the Delaware" (1953) and "The Dutch Masters" series. ⚠️ Important Note on Downloads

Availability: Finding a direct "updated" download for a 1981 documentary can be difficult.

Archives: Check the Larry Rivers Foundation or university film archives.

Streaming: Look for digital restorations on platforms like MUBI or Vimeo On Demand.

Copyright: Ensure you use official sources to support the preservation of art history.

Are you trying to locate a physical copy (DVD/VHS) or a digital stream?

The "Growing" (1981) documentary is a controversial film by American artist Larry Rivers that has sparked intense debate over the boundaries between avant-garde art and child safety. Rivers filmed his daughters, Gwynne and Emma, at six-month intervals from 1976 to 1981, documenting their physical development through footage where they were often nude or topless. Overview of Larry Rivers' "Growing"

In 1981, Rivers edited approximately five years of footage into a 45-minute documentary intended for public exhibition. The film featured intimate interviews where Rivers questioned his adolescent daughters about their changing bodies and burgeoning sexuality.

Production Context: Filmed between 1976 and 1981 when the daughters were as young as 11.

The Intent: Rivers claimed the work was an attempt to "shatter taboos" and document the reality of maturation.

Initial Reception: The girls' mother, Clarice, intervened in 1981 to stop the film's exhibition, leading Rivers to place it in his private archives until after his death in 2002. Modern Controversy and Archive Status

The film resurfaced in 2010 when New York University (NYU) was in the process of purchasing Rivers' personal archives.

NYU Rejection: After learning the nature of the footage, NYU informed the Larry Rivers Foundation that it would not accept "Growing" as part of the archive.

Daughters' Perspective: Emma Rivers Tamburlini has publicly condemned the film, describing it as "child pornography" and stating that it contributed to long-term emotional distress and eating disorders for both sisters.

Current Location: The original materials remain with the Larry Rivers Foundation. Where to Watch or Find Information To stay trending, Larry Entertainment must operate on

Due to the legal and ethical sensitivities surrounding the film, "Growing" is not available for public download or streaming on mainstream platforms like Prime Video or YouTube, which host more traditional documentaries about Rivers' art career.

Instead, those interested in the controversy can find detailed accounts and critical analyses from reputable sources:

Vanity Fair: Published a comprehensive investigative piece titled "Crimes of the Art" in 2010 exploring the fallout.

The New York Times: Provided primary reporting on NYU's refusal to house the film.

Art Crime Archive: Features a case study on "Art vs. The Destruction of Innocence" regarding the 1981 edit. N.Y.U. Doesn't Want Film of Larry Rivers's Naked Daughters

The documentary " " (1981) by American artist Larry Rivers is not available for legitimate download or streaming on any major platform.

The 45-minute film, which documented his daughters' puberty over a five-year period, is extremely controversial and has been the subject of long-standing legal and ethical disputes. Due to its sensitive nature, it was largely removed from public access and scholarly archives. Availability and Controversy

Archival Status: In 2010, New York University (NYU) returned the footage to the Larry Rivers Foundation after a public outcry and requests from one of Rivers' daughters, Emma Tamburlini, who claimed the filming was non-consensual and damaging.

Legal Restrictions: The foundation that manages Rivers' work has reportedly held the materials, with the family requesting strict restrictions on the footage during the daughters' lifetimes.

Unauthorized Links: While some social media pages or unofficial websites claim to provide "download links" for the full piece, these are often unreliable, potentially malicious, or part of predatory scams. Legitimate Related Media

If you are interested in Rivers' life and other works, several authorized documentaries and programs are available: Larry Rivers (Documentary)

: A 31-minute film focusing on his art and studio life is available on Vimeo On Demand . Larry Rivers: Bad Boy of the Art World

: A newer documentary (2023) that explores his controversial career, including the "Growing" scandal, though it primarily uses the topic for biographical context rather than showing the full original film.

Momart: Brief clips and discussions of his video work (such as "Shirley") can be found in the Media Burn Archive. Documentary Growing 1981 Larry Rivers Download - Facebook

The documentary (1981) by Larry Rivers is not a traditional film available for public download, but rather a controversial and deeply personal art project that was suppressed shortly after its creation. The "updated" story behind it involves a 2010 legal battle and a 2023 documentary that re-examined Rivers' life. The Story of "Growing" (1981)

The Project: Between 1976 and 1981, pop artist Larry Rivers filmed his two daughters, Gwynne and Emma, every six months.

The Content: The footage, edited into a 45-minute film titled Growing, documented his daughters' transition into puberty. Rivers filmed them topless or naked and asked intrusive questions about their changing bodies, sexuality, and whether boys had begun to notice them.

The Suppression: Rivers originally planned to show the film as part of a 1981 exhibition, but his then-wife, Clarice Rivers, intervened and stopped the public screening. The footage was subsequently locked away in his personal archives. The Archive Controversy (2010 Update) This cycle trains the algorithm to associate “1981

NYU Acquisition: Following Rivers' death in 2002, the Larry Rivers Foundation attempted to sell his archives to New York University (NYU).

Public Outcry: When the contents of Growing became public knowledge in 2010, it sparked a major ethical debate regarding the line between "art" and child exploitation.

Family Impact: His daughter, Emma Tamburlini, publicly condemned the films as "psychologically damaging" and credited the experience with contributing to her developing an eating disorder.

Outcome: NYU eventually refused to take possession of the Growing tapes, requesting the foundation remove them from the collection. Emma Tamburlini has since sought to have the footage returned to her custody to ensure it is never shown. Recent Legacy (2023)

The story was brought back into the spotlight with the release of a new documentary titled Larry Rivers: Bad Boy of the Art World (2023). This film, available for rental on platforms like Gathr, explores Rivers' provocative career and specifically addresses the Growing controversy through interviews and critical analysis. N.Y.U. Doesn't Want Film of Larry Rivers's Naked Daughters

The 1981 documentary titled Growing , created by artist Larry Rivers

, is less a traditional film and more a deeply controversial series of home-video experiments that became the center of a major art-world scandal decades after its production. Overview of "Growing" (1981)

From 1976 to 1981, Rivers used a video camera to record his two young daughters, Gwynne and Emma, at six-month intervals. In 1981, he edited this footage into a 45-minute film intended for public exhibition.

Content: The footage captures the girls as they age from roughly 11 to 16, often filmed topless or naked. Rivers can be heard off-camera asking intrusive questions about their developing bodies and physical changes.

The Intent: Rivers viewed the project as an honest, "objective" exploration of time and biological growth, claiming it was an attempt to make "life seem absurd" through art.

The Fallout: Rivers' ex-wife, Clarice, originally blocked the public screening in the early 1980s. The footage remained largely hidden until 2010, when New York University (NYU) refused to accept it as part of his archive, sparking a massive debate over where "art" ends and exploitation begins. Critical Review & Perspectives

Reviews of Growing are almost exclusively focused on the ethical and psychological damage it caused, rather than its technical merits.

The "Child Pornography" Allegation: Emma Rivers-Tamburlini, the younger daughter, has publicly denounced the film as "nothing less than child pornography" and linked it to her struggle with anorexia as a teenager.

The "Bad Boy" Defense: Supporters of Rivers, including some archive guardians, have historically defended the work as a "taboo-shattering" artistic expression. However, modern consensus—as highlighted in the 2023 documentary Larry Rivers: Bad Boy of the Art World—largely views the project as a disturbing overstep of parental and artistic boundaries.

Legacy: The film is now primarily cited as a case study in Art vs. Crime, representing the "terrible" side of Rivers' career where his pursuit of transparency and provocation caused real-world harm to his family. Updated Availability & Download Info

Because of its extremely sensitive content and the ongoing legal/ethical disputes between the Larry Rivers Foundation and his daughters, Growing is not available for public download or streaming.

Streaming Status: You can find the broader 2023 documentary Larry Rivers: Bad Boy of the Art World (which discusses Growing) on platforms like Gathr.

Access: NYU officially declined the footage to avoid possessing potentially illegal material, and the Larry Rivers Foundation has faced intense pressure to destroy the tapes or return them to the daughters. N.Y.U. Doesn't Want Film of Larry Rivers's Naked Daughters