Although recognized as one of the best portrait and fashion photographers of the 20th century, Irving Penn made series of works that were separate from his commercial career. Many of his personal pictures investigate the photographic medium. "I myself have always stood in awe of the camera," Penn said. "I recognize it for the instrument it is, part Stradivarius, part scalpel." Eye in Keyhole references this duality. The eye is both a subject and a stand-in, peering through a keyhole like the photographer peers through the lens of a camera, suggesting that both have the potential to unlock visual worlds.