Scotland (tennis players) 1917

Editor: This photograph, “Scotland (tennis players)” by Leslie Hamilton Wilson, presents a group of people playing tennis. It's a very casual scene, almost staged. What strikes me is the clear separation between the players and the observers. What's your take? Curator: The image certainly evokes a sense of social stratification, doesn't it? The active tennis players, likely of a certain social class, are performing leisure, while the seated figures seem to be observing, perhaps hinting at societal expectations of gender and class roles during that time. What does the landscape say to you? Editor: I hadn't considered that! The landscape seems almost indifferent to their activities. Curator: Exactly! It could be a comment on the insignificance of these social performances in the face of broader historical and environmental realities. Editor: It is interesting how the photo opens a lot of questions about gender and class. Curator: Indeed, it invites us to consider how leisure and identity are performed and observed, particularly within specific social contexts.