Untitled (portrait of woman with clip-on earrings) c. 1940

This photographic negative, now held at the Harvard Art Museums, captures a woman adorned with clip-on earrings, a portrait frozen in monochrome. The earrings, seemingly simple ornaments, echo throughout art history as symbols of adornment and status. From ancient Egyptian earrings signifying divine protection to Renaissance pearl earrings representing purity and wealth, these objects carry a rich cultural weight. Consider the evolution: earrings appear in various forms across different cultures, each laden with specific meanings. Even the act of piercing, once a rite of passage, now a fashion choice, speaks to this evolution. These subtle accessories resonate with our collective memory, a subconscious desire to adorn, to define oneself. The portrait evokes a quiet psychological depth, engaging viewers with the enduring human impulse for beauty and self-expression. The woman's gaze, though captured in negative, remains a powerful force, a link to timeless expressions of identity.