The Graduating Class 1913

Frank Eugene’s photograph, "The Graduating Class," was created in 1913 through a photographic process, but it's more than just a record of a moment. I feel like I'm looking at a very posed, very intimate moment. The girls are dressed in these delicate white dresses. The light is so soft; everything kind of blends together, like a dream. It's got this wistful, melancholic air about it, like they are all suspended in a moment of quiet reflection. I can imagine Eugene trying to capture something beyond just their physical appearance, maybe the emotional weight of this transition they're all going through. There’s something universal in the way they lean on each other for support, that feels very familiar. In a way, this piece connects with the long history of artists trying to capture fleeting moments of intimacy and connection. Like those Impressionist painters trying to freeze a moment in time, capturing the light and the feeling of a particular instant.