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Spender accepted the commission to photograph Nicholson for Harper's Bazaar as it meant both meeting him, and visiting the Mall Studios in Hampstead. Spender was determined to attempt 'something different' and arrived with lights and tripods. 'Nicholson was quite a vain man and appreciated the trouble being taken' recalled Spender.

The portrait takes inspiration from Nicholson’s painted compositions, and the photograph is a study of formal and spatial relationships. The extremes of light and shadow, the silhouette of Nicholson cast on the wall behind, the use of the mirror as a framing device and the ambiguous context owe much to the Surrealist movement in photography, which was current at the time.