Untitled (portrait of a child) c. 1940

Curator: This is John Deusing's "Untitled (portrait of a child)," currently held at the Harvard Art Museums. The image measures about 7 by 5 inches. Editor: It’s stark! The inverted tones give the child an almost ethereal presence. I wonder what power dynamics are at play here. Curator: Photography, particularly portraiture, has always been tied to class and status. Deusing might have been exploring themes of childhood innocence, or even the constructed nature of identity itself. Editor: Absolutely, and considering it's an inverted image, are we meant to see the child as a symbol of something suppressed or hidden within society at the time? Curator: An intriguing perspective! Ultimately, artworks like this challenge us to consider how visual culture shapes our understanding of childhood and societal values. Editor: Precisely. A single image can provoke so much critical reflection.