Untitled (woman in flowered dress with hand raised standing by potted plant) after 1940

This photographic print of a woman in a flowered dress was created by Paul Gittings, though the exact date is unknown. The image itself is a study in contrasts. The smooth paper of the print creates a stark contrast with the patterned dress. The way the woman's dress was likely made – through repetitive labor and industrial processes – speaks to the commodification of fashion, and perhaps to the economic realities that shaped her life. The studio setting, with its minimalist backdrop and potted plant, also seems staged and artificial. This tension between the natural and the manufactured, the authentic and the artificial, is central to the image's power. In the end, it is a study of materials and their ability to convey meaning, inviting us to consider the social and cultural context in which it was made.