Gropius Residence, Lincoln, Massachusetts, 1938 c. 1938

Curator: This is Paul Davis's photograph, "Gropius Residence, Lincoln, Massachusetts, 1938," now residing in the Harvard Art Museums. Editor: Stark, isn't it? The interplay of light and shadow across that facade is almost brutal. You can really feel the materials. Curator: Absolutely. It reflects the International Style's clean lines and functional aesthetic, so central to the Bauhaus movement Gropius championed. Editor: And think about the labor! The steel for that spiral staircase, the concrete…all manufactured, shipped, assembled. It embodies industrial processes. Curator: Indeed, it’s a fascinating look at how European modernism was translated and received in America, with its own set of social and cultural considerations. Editor: For me, the image throws the building’s materials and construction process into sharp relief, something easily overlooked. Curator: It's an important record of architectural history and the politics embedded within design. Editor: A really interesting moment, captured in monochrome.