Untitled (baby on scale) 1955

Curator: This is an untitled photograph by Lucian and Mary Brown, currently held in the Harvard Art Museums. Editor: Woah. This image feels both incredibly tender and deeply unsettling. It is all in the details, isn't it? Curator: Yes, it depicts a baby lying in what seems to be a scale, next to some weights. The composition invites a discourse on early childhood and how it is perceived in our cultural institutions. Editor: To me, the wallpaper adds a certain claustrophobia, making the act of weighing the child feel almost clinical. I find this rather heartbreaking. Curator: Indeed, the Browns were active during a period when infant mortality was a major public health concern, so quantifying a baby’s health would have been seen as vital. Editor: It's haunting to consider how societal anxieties can be imprinted onto something as innocent as a sleeping child. Curator: It is a stark visual reminder of the historical anxieties around childhood and the impulse to measure and control aspects of human development. Editor: It really makes you wonder about the stories behind this silent, small portrait.