Untitled (woman tying bonnet onto seated child) c. 1950

Curator: This silver gelatin print by Jack Gould shows a woman tying a bonnet on a seated child. It's a small piece, just over two inches square. It's part of the Harvard Art Museums collection. Editor: The lighting and composition make this seem like a scene from a dream. The image being inverted just amplifies the surreal quality. Curator: The negative is striking, especially as the artist and exact date are unknown. This points to the photograph being more about the image itself, not the established story of the artist. Editor: And it highlights the often-overlooked labor of women, presented here not in heroic terms, but in the mundane act of childcare. The child’s gaze is serious, perhaps conveying the weight of expectations placed upon them. Curator: Absolutely. Considering its everyday subject matter, it’s fascinating to consider the impact it could have had on viewers when it was first created. Editor: It makes you wonder about the power of the seemingly ordinary. I’m left thinking about the stories hidden in these captured moments.