Siskind was a friend of the sitter and her sisters in the early 1930s and photographed them over a period of a few years. Carl Chiarenza describes his work in this vein: Portraiture never attracted Siskind. He was uncomfortable with the responsibility of creating a one-to-one confrontation, where the sitter sat awkwardly and the photographer was unable to concentrate on the image. He did make pictures of friends throughout his career, however, usually the writers, musicians, artists, and women in his life. More often than not, those of women have erotic overtones, sometimes subtle, sometimes mysterious, sometimes surreal. (op. cit.) The ambiguity of the space the figure is placed in and the oblique angle from which this picture is made is surely indicative of this. This particular print is carefully trimmed and mounted, a rare presentation for Siskind but indicative of the importance of the relationship he had with the sitter. It may also belie some of Paul Strand's presence at the Photo League.
Prints from this period in Siskind's career are rare.