Charles Duncan, Georgia O'Keeffe, and Paul Rosenfeld 1920

Curator: Alfred Stieglitz captured this striking image, a gelatin-silver print made in 1920 titled "Charles Duncan, Georgia O'Keeffe, and Paul Rosenfeld". Editor: The overall impression is so intimate; like stepping into a private moment shared between friends. A moment captured with this subtle grain which lends the piece such a timeless mood. It's so quiet, yet teeming with subtle tension, you can almost hear them breathing. Curator: Absolutely. Considering Stieglitz's close relationship with the subjects here – his wife Georgia O'Keeffe, the critic Paul Rosenfeld, and artist Charles Duncan - there is indeed a definite sense of unguarded familiarity on display. One almost wonders about the availability of photographic technology to non-professionals when they were making these images in comparison to current technology accessibilities Editor: Funny you mentioned photographic availability to non-professionals – as my eye is drawn to the slice of bread smack dab in the foreground like some Dada-esque monument! The soft light catches the rough texture of the loaf, immediately emphasizing the "here and now." Makes one wonder what ingredients were being commonly available to use in bread baking, a humble act we take for granted! Curator: Exactly! What's often overlooked, I think, is the way Stieglitz foregrounds this shared meal and communal activity, almost as documentation of modernist sociability within specific eating practices, food preparations of their time – reflecting contemporary anxieties around labor and consumerism within these domestic contexts. The simple presentation itself acts as a testament against prevailing extravagance and indulgence. Editor: I like the attention you call to the simplicity being purposeful as a symbolic response to a common over-indulgence. But on a basic level I am now starving, and so deeply longing to share their table. A great moment caught and presented through film, it does not get more direct or less evasive! Curator: And it's in those un-staged interactions and ordinary, material moments where the value lies. The simple act of sharing a meal rendered into art, providing such rich historical insight. Editor: A tangible and accessible cultural moment recorded and ready for observation! And I'm now ready for a cheese and bread board like that one!