As a commercial photographer Gradvohl's photographs of burlesque dancers are difficult to decipher. The poses, cropping, and ample retouching are the only fleeting traces of the photographer's presence, and Gradvohl's hand-written retouching notes become the most telling clues.

All of which speaks to the awkward fit between the real bodies of the dancers and the cultural ideal of feminine beauty.

(Ken Gonzales-Day, curator "Different Looks: The Burlesque Portraits of Raoul Gradvohl and Garry Winogrand's 'Women are Beautiful'")