Berg, 1856-1926, studied at the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris and London and began a practice as an architect in New York City in 1880.  In 1897, the Gillender Building, which he designed, was completed. Demolished in 1910, the Gillender was one of  New York City’s earliest skyscrapers at twenty-stories.  In 1896, he became a founding member of the Camera Club of New York and its first print committee chairman.  Berg’s photographs frequently pictured classically draped models surrounded with architectural elements. 1.

This rather “straight” photograph is reminiscent of later studies done by Alfred Stieglitz of his wife Georgia O’Keefe.  A variant of this image published in 1897 is titled “Adoration”.

1.  Alfred Stieglitz’s Camera Notes: Christian A. Peterson: The Minneapolis Institute of Arts in association with W.W. Norton & Company, Inc. : 1993: p. 159