Untitled (woman in evening dress with fan seated in front of tree and peacock wall painting) c. 1950

Paul Gittings made this undated photograph of a woman in an evening dress with a fan, seated in front of a wall painting, using an unknown photographic process. Looking at this image, we might ask ourselves what is being documented. Is it a society portrait, an experiment in staging, or a bit of both? The woman’s formal attire and fan suggest a traditional portrait of wealth and status. But the painted backdrop of a peacock and tree complicates this. Is it an attempt to create a fantastical or exotic setting within the confines of a domestic interior? Or perhaps to associate the sitter with the peacock's connotations of beauty and luxury? Without knowing more about the sitter, the photographer, or the context in which this image was made, it is hard to say for sure. But photographs like this offer a glimpse into the cultural values and aspirations of their time. The resources of social history, when applied to images like this, can tell us a lot.