Untitled (woman in riding clothes in studio, legs crossed and leaning back on right hand) after 1940

This black and white photograph of a woman in riding clothes was made by Paul Gittings, though we don't know exactly when. What I love about this image is how Gittings isn't just taking a picture; he's constructing a moment. The way the light catches the woman's face, that contrast between the darks and lights, makes the image almost sculptural. Her arm is elongated with that bright white glove, leading to the crop in her hand - it all reminds me of something out of a Man Ray photograph, or maybe even one of those Surrealist collages by Hannah Höch. It’s like Gittings is playing with surfaces and textures, turning the photograph into something more than just a representation. It's this unexpected layering of meaning that I find so exciting. There's this conversation happening across art forms, and across time, that makes looking at art so endlessly fascinating.