Interior: Melrose Abbey. c. 1865

Editor: Here we have Francis Frith's "Interior: Melrose Abbey." It's a photograph of an abbey's ruins, and I'm struck by how it captures the beauty of decay. What do you see in this piece? Curator: Frith's image offers insight into 19th-century perceptions of history and the picturesque. How does the framing of the ruin invite reflection on time, power, and the Church's role in society? Editor: It’s like a romanticized view of history. Did Frith intend to critique or simply document? Curator: Frith was a commercial photographer. He aimed to capture scenes that would appeal to a Victorian audience interested in both travel and the historical grandeur of such sites. It fed a specific cultural appetite. Editor: So, it’s less about the actual abbey and more about what it represented to people then. I never thought of it that way. Curator: Precisely! The image operates within a network of social and economic factors, influencing its production and reception.