Untitled (portrait of young woman in large round straw hat) c. 1940

This is an undated photographic portrait by Paul Gittings, showing a young woman wearing a large straw hat. Gittings was a commercial photographer in Texas in the mid-twentieth century, documenting the upper echelons of Texan society. But this portrait is an anomaly in that it is not of a recognizable individual, and is presented as a work of art, not a society portrait. Photography occupies an ambiguous place in the hierarchy of art. Its accessibility and reproducibility have often been viewed as a threat to the traditional institutions of art. However, photographers such as Gittings sought to elevate the medium by emulating the conventions of painting, such as portraiture. The social conditions that shaped artistic production in the 20th century are visible here. As a historian, I might want to delve into sources such as photographic journals and exhibition catalogs to understand how photography gained acceptance within the art world, and what role photographers like Gittings played in this process. The meaning of art is always contingent on the social and institutional context in which it is made and viewed.