Untitled (portrait of blond girl with bow in hair, arm over back of chair) after 1940

This photograph, an untitled portrait of a girl with a bow, captured by Paul Gittings, is a study in light and softness. Imagine Gittings in the darkroom, coaxing this image into being through a dance of light and chemicals. I’m immediately drawn to the ethereal quality of the girl's features, almost dissolving into the background. The way her arm rests on the chair—it’s so delicate, yet there’s a subtle strength in the line. I wonder what Gittings was thinking, what he wanted to capture. Was it just her innocence, or something more complex? This image reminds me of artists like Gertrude Käsebier, who used photography to explore the inner lives of her subjects. There’s a conversation happening here, a dialogue across time about how we see and represent each other, particularly girls on the cusp of becoming. It feels very poignant to me.