Untitled (photographer taking studio portrait of two boys) c. 1950

Curator: This evocative image from the Harvard Art Museums is simply titled "Untitled (photographer taking studio portrait of two boys)," by Jack Gould. It’s a modest gelatin silver print, only about 5.7 centimeters square. Editor: There's something wonderfully intimate about its small scale and the informal composition. It's like peering into a memory. Curator: Absolutely. The reversed tonality of the negative amplifies the sense of looking into the past. We see not just a photograph, but the act of photographic representation itself. The boys, the photographer, the equipment...they all become symbols. Editor: Symbols of a certain middle-class domesticity and the societal importance placed on capturing childhood. The staging feels deliberate, almost performative, highlighting photography’s role in shaping social identity. Curator: The photograph seems to hint at larger narratives about family, representation, and even the passage of time through the lens of a camera. Editor: Indeed. It reminds us how photography has become integral to our collective memory and cultural narratives.