Untitled (woman seated on pattered loveseat between young children) after 1940

This black and white photograph of a woman seated on a loveseat with two young children was made by Paul Gittings. Gittings was known as a society photographer, particularly in the South. This image presents us with a portrait of white, middle-class domesticity, likely made sometime in the mid-twentieth century. The interior setting is generic, but the floral arrangement, the lamp, and the pattern of the loveseat all speak to a certain level of comfort and affluence. The woman is elegantly dressed, and her children are well-groomed. In thinking about this image in its socio-historical context, consider the family values that were being promoted and idealized in the US at the time. It is also worth researching the history of photography as a social practice. Where would such a portrait have been displayed? What kind of a statement was it meant to make? By consulting archives, libraries, and historical societies, we can learn more about the public role of art and the politics of imagery. The meaning of this portrait is contingent on the social and institutional context in which it was produced.