In My Studio (also called Tired Butterfly)

This portrait of Evelyn Nesbit is a quintessential example of the traditional male gaze in art. Architect Stanford White, who was scandalously smitten with the young actress, commissioned Rudolf Eickemeyer Jr., to photograph her. The silk kimono and bearskin props add to the sensuality of her pose, while the rich sepia tones and soft, painterly focus reflect Eickemeyer’s interests in the aesthetic possibilities of photography and his commitment to Pictorialism.