Charity, Children: United States. New York. Pleasantville. Hebrew Sheltering Guardian Society: Hebrew Sheltering Guardian Society Orphan Asylum, Pleasantville, New York: Playing games at Fellowship House. c. 1900

Curator: This photogravure print captures two scenes inside the Fellowship House at the Hebrew Sheltering Guardian Society Orphan Asylum in Pleasantville, New York. The scenes seem to depict activities—games—amongst the residents of the facility. Editor: There is a somber quality to the compositions. Even with the presence of games like billiards, the tight groupings of figures and muted tones convey a sense of institutional restraint rather than leisure. Curator: Note the deliberate composition, the strong linear perspective guiding our eye, and the careful arrangement of the subjects within these interior spaces. It speaks to a concern for order and control. Editor: Yes, and it makes you wonder, what narratives are being excluded here? Where are the perspectives of the children themselves within this representation of a "charitable" institution? Curator: Indeed, the artist, Apeda Studio, invites us to consider the visual and formal qualities of the photogravure medium itself, while also prompting questions about representation, power, and visibility. Editor: Right. We might ask ourselves what it means to look critically at these images today, and how we might engage in more equitable forms of storytelling.