Untitled (girl and boys on couch) c. 1950

Curator: This is an untitled photograph, "girl and boys on couch," credited to Lucian and Mary Brown, part of the Harvard Art Museums collection. Editor: It's like a ghostly gathering. The negative image gives it such an eerie, otherworldly feel, almost like a dream. Curator: The reversal does amplify the sense of stillness, a suspended moment. Children at play can symbolize innocence, but here, it is tempered by this spectral quality. Editor: And they're all so focused on their own little worlds, aren't they? The trumpet, the shoe… symbols of a burgeoning imagination, yet strangely detached from each other. Curator: Perhaps it reflects on how even in childhood, we grapple with our individual narratives within a shared space. A poignant, if unsettling, glimpse. Editor: I think I will look at old family snapshots in a new light now. It's as if a veil has been lifted.