Untitled (older woman with pearl necklace and lace neck scarf) 1930

Curator: Here we have an untitled work by John Deusing, an image roughly 4 by 5 inches, now residing in the Harvard Art Museums. Editor: My first thought is of a ghostly matriarch, a figure seemingly emerging from the photographic ether. There’s a melancholic elegance in the pearl necklace and lace. Curator: The pearls are interesting. They often represent purity and wisdom, but also tears. I wonder if the reversal inherent in this negative image amplifies a sense of hidden sorrow or regret. Editor: Perhaps. Or maybe it's a commentary on the social position of women at the time. Adornment as a marker of status, but also a constraint. Curator: It is compelling how symbols shift. What once spoke of privilege might now evoke confinement. Looking at it now, it is a reminder of time. Editor: Exactly, and how we project our own evolving values onto these visual relics.