Untitled (portrait of a woman in coat, fur stole, and hat at bottom of stairs) 1928

Curator: Here we have an intriguing, undated photograph from Hamblin Studio, currently titled "Untitled (portrait of a woman in coat, fur stole, and hat at bottom of stairs)." It’s an arresting image, isn't it? Editor: Absolutely. There's an almost ghostly quality to it, with the high contrast and the way the figure seems to emerge from the light. It feels melancholic, like a memory fading at the edges. Curator: Well, the Hamblin Studio was a commercial photography enterprise. So I imagine the sitter wanted to convey something of herself to posterity, perhaps a marker of status. The fur stole and elaborate hat certainly speak to that. Editor: Or perhaps it speaks to a performance of self. The slight theatricality of the pose, the bouquet clutched in her hands – it feels like she’s playing a role, rather than revealing her true self. What do you think that says about the era? Curator: I think it tells us about the aspiration embedded in photography at the time. It suggests a desire to enter the historical record in a very particular way. Editor: It makes you wonder what stories these images hold, stories the sitter wanted us to know and those she was perhaps trying to hide. Curator: Precisely. A fascinating dance between appearance and reality, isn't it?