Kerstin and Mrs. Leslie Ross, on the Ross wheat farm, near Peetz, Colorado Possibly 1973 - 1988

Robert Adams took this photograph of Kerstin and Mrs. Leslie Ross on their wheat farm near Peetz, Colorado. I can imagine Adams framing this very interior scene, thinking about what it might mean to show these women in their domestic space. I see the repeating patterns of the floral wallpaper and checkered floor, the archway framing another room in the distance, and the dark shapes of the chairs. The light streams in through the window, but the image is far from bright. It's like Adams is asking: How do we live amongst these patterns? What stories are held within them? The image gives me pause. It's like looking into someone else's memory, a fleeting moment captured in shades of gray. Maybe this is what painting is for me too—an attempt to hold onto something before it disappears, to find meaning in the everyday. Adams’ photograph reminds us that art is everywhere.