James Van Der Zee

This young woman sits in the studio of the pioneering African-American photographer James Van Der Zee, one of the principal portrait photographers to New York City’s black community during the 1920s and ’30s. Close examination reveals that the fireplace at which she gazes, as well as the stairwell behind her, are painted backdrop curtains designed to suggest a domestic space. Van Der Zee sometimes invited sitters to pose nude, as seen here, to create images for publication as calendar photographs. To ease concerns about nudity, his wife always assisted in undressing the models and remained present throughout the shoot. In this image, the young woman’s meditative expression suggest that we are witnessing an intensely private moment of reflection and psychic vulnerability, an elusive interiority that heightens her beauty and potential erotic appeal.