Berenice Abbott moved from Ohio to Greenwich Village in 1918 and lived in a dwelling with several other people, including the American writer Djuna Barnes. The house at 86 Greenwich Avenue was known as Clemenceau Cottage, for the French Prime Minister George Clemenceau, who lived there in exile before the 1871 Paris Commune. Their friendship endured for decades, though at times it was complicated by shared romantic entanglements.

In 1921, she moved to Paris and, two years later, began working as a darkroom assistant to Man Ray, who encouraged her to use the studio for her own photography. This is where this portrait was taken. Man Ray insisted that Abbott charge the same as he did, so that clients would take her more seriously and she would not undercut his business. A little over ten years later, Barnes published Nightwood (1936), a landmark of lesbian literature inspired by her turbulent relationship with American artist Thelma Wood, who also had a brief affair with Abbott.

In addition to Barnes, Abbott's early sitters included Sylvia Beach, Jean Cocteau, and Marie Laurencin.

Gelatin silver print (172 x 126 mm, 6¾ x 5 in), minor handling, crease to bottom right tip, small loss to top right tip, minor mirroring, annotations,and Abbott's 'Photographie de Berenice Abbott / 18, Rue Servandoni. Paris' and 'Berenice Abbott Photograph' ink stamps, and 'Collection Romeo Martinez' stamp on verso.