Untitled (football team, Friends School) 1939

Curator: This photograph, of a football team at Friends School, is part of the Harris & Ewing collection. It captures a moment frozen in time. Editor: It’s haunting, isn’t it? The inverted tones give it a spectral quality. They all appear ghostly, lined up on a bench like that. Curator: Harris & Ewing were a prominent photographic studio in Washington, D.C., documenting significant political figures and events. But here, we have a glimpse of everyday life. Editor: This could be read as an exercise in documenting power structures. Who gets access to education? Who gets memorialized through photography? Curator: That's an interesting point. The photograph's power also resides in what it obscures. The lack of precise dating leaves the image suspended. Editor: I'm left contemplating the legacy of this image. It’s about more than just a football team; it’s about privilege, access, and representation. Curator: It is true that we are faced with a very ambiguous but powerful picture that offers much more than what it seems at first glance. Editor: The photograph invites us to consider how images shape our understanding of history and identity.