Untitled (seated woman holding baby) c. 1950

Editor: This is an untitled photograph by Lucian and Mary Brown, depicting a seated woman holding a baby. It’s a small, intimate image, and the negative presentation gives it a ghostly, dreamlike quality. What draws your eye in this piece? Curator: Well, the reversed tones certainly play tricks on the eye, don't they? It makes you consider how we perceive light and shadow, and how easily our perceptions can be inverted. It almost feels like a memory surfacing, hazy and indistinct, yet full of tenderness. Does the negative space amplify that sensation for you? Editor: I think it does! It definitely adds to the feeling of it being a glimpse into something very personal. Curator: Exactly! And perhaps the anonymity of the subjects enhances this feeling, inviting us to project our own experiences of motherhood and infancy onto the image. It's less about *who* they are and more about *what* they represent. Editor: That’s a beautiful way to put it. I’ll definitely look at other portraits in a new way now.