The large, mounted, exhibition-sized print offered here is representative of the complexity of Cunningham’s photographic explorations after World War II. While it meets the Group f/64 requirement for a detailed account of its subject, it embodies the compositional experimentation that had been, and would continue to be, a factor in Cunningham’s work. It also looks forward to the sense of mystery that would enter her photographs in the 1950s.

The 1940s were a time of transition for Imogen Cunningham. In the 1920s, she had evolved from a rather daring Pictorialist into an equally adventurous Modernist; the 1930s saw the refinement of her Modern vision. While the pace of her work slowed in the 1940s, the present photograph demonstrates that her images did not diminish in experimentation or impact.

Cunningham authority Susan Ehrens speculates that this image may have been made at Mills College, where courses in weaving were taught. Cunningham was an active documenter of artistic activities on the campus, and this image may have emerged from that work. The photograph is similar to the studies Cunningham would make several years later of Ruth Asawa and her crocheted wire sculpture. Hands – especially those of artists, dancers, and musicians – were an enduring theme throughout Cunningham’s body of work.