"Humans Of New York" photographer Brandon Stanton is known for capturing intimate moments in everyday scenarios ― and his most recent work is no exception.
A photo posted to the HONY Facebook page on Monday night features a young woman holding a cell phone with pictures of herself underneath the label "Art." In the caption, the woman describes the body-positive story behind the beautifully illustrated images.
She told Stanton that she began modeling for nude art classes last year and was nervous because she's plus-size. "I was nervous about everyone seeing my stomach, and my thighs, and all my fat," the caption reads. "But apparently my curves are fun to draw."
The young woman said she began to see just how beautiful her body is through art. "In the classroom, all the features I saw as negative were viewed as assets. One student told me that it's no fun to draw straight lines," she said. "It's been liberating for me. I've always been insecure about my belly. But now my belly has been part of so many beautiful pieces of art."
Read the full post below.
As of Tuesday morning, the photo had more than 170,000 likes and 8,600 shares.
The best part? An overwhelming number of the 2,600 comments are messages of love, body positivity and support.
"Plus-sized is a human construct," one commenter wrote. "You are beautiful, and right-sized." Another commenter added: "Own your flaws and make them your strengths. No one would like HONY if it was all perfect people living perfect lives. It's the imperfections that we all relate to that keeps us coming back"
After posting the original photo, Stanton added a second photo in the comments section of the woman sitting on a park bench.
Truly a work of art.
Head over to HONY's Facebook page to see more photos from Stanton.