William Wegman American, b. 1943

A Weimaraner in a black hooded boxing robe, the hood up and pulled forward so that only the long muzzle and a single eye catch the light. One ear has escaped and hangs outside the hood. The robe is zipped halfway and chest fur shows in the gap. Embroidered across the chest in white: EVERLAST. Everything else in the frame is very close to black.

The lighting is the entire production. One low source at the left picks out the grey muzzle, the wet nose and the one lit eye, and lets the robe sink into the ground behind it, so that the dog appears to be emerging out of its own clothing. It is precisely how a fighter gets photographed on the walk to the ring, and the pose is held with total commitment by an animal who has no idea what a ring is.

The robe says EVERLAST, which is a boxing-glove company. The title says Everlasting. Wegman has taken a brand name off a piece of sports equipment and added two letters, and the addition turns it from a trademark into a promise that nothing can keep. Nobody in the photograph comments on this. The dog looks out from under the hood with the seriousness of a professional, and the print, being a Polaroid, is the only one there will ever be.