George Moore, 1930
Silver Gelatin
Paul R. Jones Collection, Atlanta, GA

"That is another gentleman I picked up off campus," said Polk. "We called him 'Joey Mo.' "

With his eyes in dark shadow and pinpoint highlights, George Moore grips the viewer of his portrait with a penetrating stare. The wrinkles etched in his face and the darkly obscuring background with which Polk surrounds him seem to heighten a sense of mystery in the sitter.

These effects provide a marked contrast to a softer, more sentimental vision of Moore that Polk created in another version of this image. In the second print, Moore has removed his hat and holds it and a cane-like stick in his lap.