Untitled (mother with son and daughter) 1938

Curator: Before us we have “Untitled (mother with son and daughter)” by Hamblin Studio, a photographic print held in the Harvard Art Museums. Editor: The inverted tones of this image give it an ethereal, almost ghostly quality. It makes me think about the chemical processes involved in early photography. Curator: Indeed, the reversal immediately lends a symbolic dimension. Light and shadow are potent symbols of life and death, presence and absence. It evokes memory itself. Editor: And also the labor! The Hamblin Studio, probably a commercial enterprise, would have been churning out these family portraits. How many hands touched this object? Curator: The photograph encapsulates the enduring archetype of the family unit. The mother, flanked by her children, radiates a protective aura, regardless of its industrial origins. Editor: But that's precisely it! Family photos like this were commodities, and perhaps this was a way for families to participate in a changing world of industry and mass production. Curator: I suppose the ghostly effect transforms a mundane family portrait into an enduring symbol of familial bonds. Editor: A powerful image, indeed, made poignant by the very means of its production.