Untitled (portrait of girl wearing corsage holding book) 1952

Curator: This silver gelatin print, currently held at the Harvard Art Museums, is by John Deusing and is titled, simply, "Untitled (portrait of girl wearing corsage holding book)." Editor: It's a bit unsettling, isn’t it? Stark. The girl's gaze is direct, almost challenging, like she's guarding a secret, and the book seems like the key to it. Curator: Indeed. The book is a potent symbol, signifying knowledge, education, and perhaps even the weight of societal expectations placed upon young women. Editor: Or maybe she's just really into Jane Austen. I see the corsage as a contrasting emblem, suggesting a fleeting moment of beauty and transition, pinned to her as if to be contained. Curator: The corsage could also signal an important event, a rite of passage. Perhaps graduation or a confirmation. Note the traditional posed nature, a style intended to convey respectability. Editor: I keep returning to the starkness, though. It feels almost like a study in contrasts, of light and shadow, youth and gravity. Makes you wonder what was happening outside the frame. Curator: It invites contemplation on the role of ritual objects and attire in defining identity and marking transitions in a young person's life. Editor: It’s a photo that keeps whispering to me, promising a story just beyond reach.