Untitled (two portraits of baby in dress) c. 1940

Curator: Looking at this photographic print from the Harvard Art Museums, an untitled work by John Deusing showing two portraits of a baby in a dress, I’m struck by the ghostly presence. What’s your first impression? Editor: I’m immediately drawn to how the inverted tones force us to consider photography's reliance on chemical processes—the manipulation of silver halide crystals on the gelatin silver print. Curator: Absolutely, it's as if the baby is emerging from some other dimension, a fleeting memory or a half-formed dream. There's an ethereal quality that transcends just a portrait. Editor: Indeed. And while we may not know the specific social context, we can appreciate how such portraits served as important material objects—documents of life stages, class aspirations, and perhaps the labor involved in creating and preserving such imagery. Curator: It feels like the image itself is whispering secrets of a bygone era. Editor: Yes, these material traces are all we have to decipher the story. Curator: Perhaps. It’s a poignant reminder of time's relentless march. Editor: Right, and how we continue to imbue simple objects with meaning.