Untitled (baby fawn and cow, close-up view) c. 1950

Curator: This is an untitled photograph by Jack Gould depicting a baby fawn nursing from a cow, part of the Harvard Art Museums collection. It’s a very intimate composition. Editor: It feels incredibly tender, doesn't it? The stark black and white emphasizes the vulnerability of the fawn, this unexpected pairing. Curator: Absolutely. Consider the social context—cross-species fostering is rare but highlights our intervention in natural processes, particularly in agricultural settings. Editor: Right, it speaks to human control and the blurring of natural boundaries. There's a poignant commentary here on animal agency, or lack thereof. Curator: Gould’s choice to present it so close-up forces us to confront these questions. Editor: It's a reminder of interspecies dependencies and the ethics that come with that. I find myself questioning the power dynamics at play. Curator: Precisely. And perhaps our own role as spectators in this manufactured pastoral scene. Editor: Definitely, this image asks us to consider our part in these constructed relationships.