Part of a series of portraits Gowin made of his wife Edith and their children, this photograph reveals the snapshot-like informality that characterizes much of the photographer’s earliest work. Even now, Gowin continues to photograph his family in the tradition of his teachers Harry Callahan and Aaron Siskind, as well as Alfred Stieglitz. Despite the seeming simplicity of this scene, the photograph’s shallow depth of field and rich tonal range were carefully conceived to elegantly frame Edith’s tightly arranged ebony-colored hair.