Untitled (children riding on toy train) c. 1951

Curator: This photograph, a small-scale gelatin silver print by Jack Gould held at the Harvard Art Museums, depicts children riding a miniature train. Editor: It has a charming, slightly melancholic feel; the forced perspective gives it a theatrical, almost surreal quality, like a stage set. Curator: Notice how Gould captures this childhood moment, the train itself labeled “City of St. Louis,” perhaps alluding to journeys, both literal and metaphorical. The children, particularly the girl in the headscarf, possess a gravity beyond their years. Editor: Her headscarf reads as both practical and performative—a gesture toward gendered expectations of modesty, perhaps, but also a kind of worldliness, given the setting. I see a tension between innocence and a kind of staged public presentation. Curator: And the boy's casual pose, the vintage clothing—they all contribute to a narrative of childhood that feels both timeless and specific to its era. Editor: The image makes me consider how constructed our memories really are, how we selectively filter experiences to create meaning. This little train ride becomes a kind of loaded symbol.