This photograph represents a moment from Lamentation, a dance solo that Graham choreographed to a piano composition by Zoltán Kodály. The piece was first performed at Maxine Elliot's Theatre in New York in January 1930, and remained in the dancer's repertoire through the decade. In less than four minutes, she tried to express the anguish of modern life. In early program notes, Lamentation was subtitled Dance of Sorrow--"not the sorrow of a specific person, time or place but the personification of grief itself." Through the entire performance Graham was seated on a bench, designed by her friend the sculptor Isamu Noguchi. A spotlight illuminated her upper body. She wore a purple costome of her own design, an enveloping, tubular cowl of purple jersey fabric. Only Graham's face, hands and feet protruded from the loose garmet. Some observers were reminded of a nun's habit, while others saw the mantle of the Virgin of Sorrows. When the music began, Graham slowly moved her head from side to side, then gradually began to shift her torso, arms and legs in rhythm. She took angular poses, revealing its stretchy fabric into geometric shapes. For emphasis she held some positions at slightly exaggerated rests in the score. As the volume and tempo of the music increased, Graham broadened her movement, while her face remained in a vacant, faraway gaze. In a final spasm she held the edge of her mantle in a fist above her head, before settling onto the bench and dropping her head between her knees.

from Acton, A History of Photography at the University of Notre Dame: Twentieth Century (Notre Dame, 2019)