Original matte-finish 6.75 x 9.5 portrait of Benito Mussolini with his arms crossed, signed in the lower border in pencil by the photographer, "Eva Barrett, Roma/26." In very good to fine condition, with flecks of surface loss, and some creasing and minor loss to the trimmed borders.
After a middling episode as a painter in England, Barrett moved to Rome in 1913 to establish a photography studio, believing it 'was better to be a first-rate photographer than a second-rate artist.' Using a half-plate camera, she devised a photographic method capable of producing portraiture reminiscent of artistic sketches. A commission to photograph the Italian royal family earned her greater prominence, leading to further sittings with nobility from across Europe.
