Charles Martin Tornow Loeffler (1861-1935) (copy photograph of a painting by John Singer Sargent, 1903, Rhode Island School of Design) c. 1903

Editor: Here we have Sarah Choate Sears’s photograph of John Singer Sargent’s portrait of Charles Martin Tornow Loeffler. It's a copy, which I find intriguing. It’s such a somber image, all in grayscale. What do you make of it? Curator: The layers of artistry here are fascinating. Sears photographing Sargent's painting—it's like a game of telephone across mediums, each artist imbuing their vision. I wonder, did Sears want to distill Sargent's essence? Did she find his colors distracting? What do you think she focused on? Editor: Perhaps the form? The light seems so carefully captured. Curator: Exactly. It's a shadow play, a tribute, perhaps, or even a conversation between artists across time. Editor: I never thought of it that way, so multi-layered. Curator: Art is never created in a vacuum.