Sue Davidson 1925

This is Alfred Stieglitz's photograph of Sue Davidson, a small work made with light and silver. The tonal range here is so subtle, like a whispered secret. It's not just about capturing a likeness but about finding a feeling, a mood. Look at the way the light catches her face, how it softens the edges, creating a dreamy, almost ethereal quality. It's as if Stieglitz is not just recording her image but also her inner world. And then there’s that tag, hanging from her dress – such a funny contrast to the solemnity of her face. Stieglitz was a master of this kind of understated drama. Think of the work of Gertrude Käsebier, who was doing similarly radical things with photography around the same time. Both were able to see beyond the surface, finding poetry in the everyday and elevating it to art. Art is often about reframing what we already know.