Untitled (little girl holds flower to woman seated on bench by grove of trees) c. 1955

This silver gelatin print by Paul Gittings captures a tender moment: a little girl offering a flower to a woman seated on a bench in a grove of trees. Gittings was a society photographer, so it is safe to assume that the people in the image were wealthy and white. This adds a layer of complexity, as the seemingly innocent interaction is framed by the historical context of privilege and perhaps even exclusion. Who is being centered here, and whose stories remain unseen? The anonymity of the sitters invites us to reflect on universal themes of motherhood, childhood, and the passage of time. The ethereal quality of the black and white print lends the scene a dreamlike quality, evoking nostalgia and longing. It asks us to consider the emotional weight of these seemingly ordinary moments.