Gropius Residence, Lincoln, Massachusetts, 1938 c. 1938

Curator: This is Paul Davis’s photograph, "Gropius Residence, Lincoln, Massachusetts, 1938," now part of the Harvard Art Museums collection. Editor: It strikes me as a rather austere portrait, all clean lines and right angles. It feels very self-contained, almost as if the building is deliberately turning away from the landscape. Curator: The house, designed by Walter Gropius, was meant to be a beacon of modernism, a symbol of progress and rational design. The flat roof, the ribbon windows—it’s all about breaking with tradition. Editor: And the columns? They seem almost like stylized trees, a nod to nature, but nature tamed and ordered. There’s a tension here, between the organic and the geometric. Are we meant to see it as a modern Parthenon, a temple to a new age? Curator: Perhaps. Gropius aimed for simplicity, functionality. Maybe he saw it as a bridge between the old world and the new, a harmonious blend of nature and technology. Editor: Or maybe it's just a very stylish box, yearning for a bit of ivy to soften the edges. I find myself wanting to see it in color, to feel the light. Curator: That's the thing about photographs; they freeze a moment in time, inviting us to fill in the gaps.