Untitled (woman in houndstooth jacket standing by window with arms crossed; potted plants to her side) c. 1955

Paul Gittings made this gelatin silver print, titled Untitled, at an unknown date. The houndstooth jacket evokes a certain level of professional formality, but her arms are crossed, so we have to wonder if this is a picture about power and autonomy, or defense. The photograph is haunted by an overlayer of what appears to be plantlife. While we can't know the date with any certainty, the woman's hair, makeup and clothing may point to the mid-20th century, when photography had become institutionalized within the fine arts. It was acquired by the Harvard Art Museums, part of a broader cultural trend as photography departments appeared at universities, giving the medium new art-historical legitimacy. As historians, we might look to photographic journals and exhibition reviews from the mid-20th century, along with the artist's biography, to better understand how this image might be interpreted in its own moment. The meaning of art always depends on its social and institutional context.