John Pento, 14 years old, Daniel and Angelo Pento, 7 years old, selling newspapers, Hartford, Connecticut 1909

Lewis Hine made this photograph of John, Daniel, and Angelo Pento selling newspapers in Hartford, Connecticut, at an unknown date, but probably in the early 20th century. The palette here is so muted, almost a monochrome, like a memory fading. The way the light catches on the surface, it feels like a process of uncovering, revealing these young figures from the past. The photograph has this incredible texture, almost grainy, like the rough paper of an old newsprint. Look at the way the light hits the wall behind them. It’s not smooth; you can almost feel the grit of the surface. It makes the whole image feel so tangible. My eye is drawn to the newspapers they are holding, the crisp edges, a contrast to the more blurred tones of their clothes. Those papers are the tools of their trade, their connection to the world. Hine reminds me of someone like Dorothea Lange, artists who used photography not just to document, but to advocate, to make us see the world with new eyes. It's a reminder that art is always a conversation, a way of seeing and feeling our way through the complexities of life.