Van Der Zee sometimes invited sitters to pose nude, as seen here, to create images for publication as calendar photographs.
In the few years before his death, encouraged by his third wife, Donna Van Der Zee, whom he married in 1978 and who manages his estate, Van Der Zee came out of retirement to photograph luminaries such as Jean-Michel Basquiat, Miles Davis, and Muhammad Ali.
Close examination reveals that the fireplace at which she gazes, as well as the stairwell behind her, are painted backdrop curtains designed to suggest a domestic space.