Untitled (young woman in formal dress for Masonic ceremony posed sitting on stairs with dress fanned out) 1951

Curator: This is an untitled photograph by Martin Schweig, currently held in the Harvard Art Museums collection. The image, a modest 10 by 12 centimeters, depicts a young woman in formal dress. Editor: The dress really dominates, doesn’t it? It's almost like a sculptural element, the way it's fanned out. What are the materials like? Curator: The image captures a very specific moment, a Masonic ceremony perhaps? The woman's dress suggests ritual and performance. It's interesting that we have a portrait in negative. It feels a bit haunting, even. Editor: Absolutely. And I'm curious about the dress itself, the labor involved in its creation, the social context of such elaborate clothing for a Masonic ceremony. Curator: It speaks to the values embedded in such organizations and the performances of identity they require. Editor: Yes, thinking about the unseen hands that crafted the garment, and then the symbolism imbued in the photographic process itself. It really gives you a lot to think about.