Berenice Abbott, New York City c. 1930

Walker Evans captured this close-up photograph titled *Berenice Abbott, New York City.* The photograph's composition is strikingly intimate, focusing on the delicate features of a face in repose. The soft gradations of light and shadow create a gentle undulation across the skin's surface. Notice how the lines of the eyelashes and strands of hair subtly frame the composition, drawing the eye inward. Evans, aligned with a documentary style, often destabilized the boundary between objective record and subjective expression. The photograph, through its tight framing and close perspective, evokes themes of vulnerability. Consider the semiotic implications, too. The closed eyes, the stillness, these visual cues might represent a retreat from the urban clamor, or perhaps an introspective state of contemplation. This photograph functions as a sign, inviting viewers to project their own meanings onto the image. Its impact resides in its ability to function on both a formal and symbolic register.