Published in 1950, Time in New England was the first of a series of books by Paul Strand comprising texts and photographs whose interactions offer a plural and broad approach to the realities found within their pages. They include landscapes, people, and also the less picturesque aspects and spaces of daily life that are not conducive to travel books, as the one depicted in Parlor.

The image is characteristic of the subtle richness found within Strand’s photographs. A living room containing a piano with a window in the background opens up behind a quiet doorway. However, the still banality of the scene conveys a profound sense of intimacy that takes on its full meaning through the sequence of images that make up the book and is a result of Strand’s precise composition and the manner in which light sculpts the forms. Along with the possibility of reaching a broader audience and the ability to control the quality of the reproductions, Paul Strand’s appreciation for the book format was based on how it enabled him to work the narrative aspect of a series; allowing the artist to play with the juxtaposition of portraits, landscapes, constructions, and details to form a sort of serial collage.