Untitled (studio portrait of young man in three piece suit) c. 1940

This is an untitled studio portrait of a young man in a three-piece suit by Paul Gittings. The negative print reverses our expectations, casting the figure in an eerie, ethereal light against a dark background. The composition is strikingly symmetrical, with the young man centered and facing forward. The suit, rendered in ghostly white, presents sharp lines and structured forms, emblematic of early twentieth-century formality. But the photographic negative subverts this formality. The reversal of light and shadow destabilizes our perception, unsettling the established norms of portraiture. The formal wear, drained of its color, becomes an almost abstract arrangement of shapes and lines. Here, the portrait transcends mere representation, challenging fixed meanings and inviting ongoing interpretation.