Untitled (family portrait outside house) c. 1950

Editor: This is an untitled family portrait by Lucian and Mary Brown. It's a black and white photograph, and the mood seems very posed and formal. The house is in the background. What can you tell me about the artistic or social context of this photo? Curator: Considering this image as a material object, it's fascinating to consider the labor and social relations involved in its production. The family's access to photography, the film processing, and the paper it's printed on all speak to a specific level of consumption and class. What kind of story does the image tell about mid-century family life? Editor: It suggests prosperity and a focus on the nuclear family, but it’s also very staged. I hadn’t considered the materials themselves as part of the narrative. Curator: Exactly! The choices in producing this image, from the clothing to the setting, reveal cultural aspirations and the material conditions that enabled them. Editor: That's a completely different way to look at photography!