Untitled (albumen silver print of Lady Mary Filmer, mounted to page, P1982.359.7A was glued over it) 1862 - 1888

Editor: Here we have an untitled albumen silver print by Mary Georgiana Caroline Cecil Filmer. It's adhered to a larger page in a book, and it feels like a very private, quiet moment. What draws your eye when you look at this piece? Curator: The figure's turned back is quite compelling. It suggests a withholding, a privacy that was very much a part of Victorian culture. The hat is like a halo, don't you think? Editor: I see what you mean, a sort of symbolic protection? Curator: Precisely! It guards her thoughts, her emotions, inviting us to project our own narratives onto her solitude. It is a shell, an armor, a screen... Editor: That’s fascinating – I hadn’t thought about the hat that way. Curator: How do you think the photograph’s placement within the album contributes to this sense of intimacy? Editor: Knowing it was part of a personal album really reinforces that feeling of a captured, private moment. Thank you! Curator: My pleasure.